Anko's Roses
by TakumaAngel
Summary: Anko was thought to be left for dead after her fight with Kabuto until Kakashi brings her back to Konoha alive. Acquaintances were all they had ever been, hardly speaking to one another unless they disagreed. Tragedy breeds friendship among comrades, and Kakashi extends that friendship toward Anko. Soon she begins to fall for him. Will Kakashi ever admit his own feelings for her?
1. Chapter 1: The Lost Mitarashi Returns

**A/N:** Hey everybody! I've switched gears again. Now I'm writing my first Naruto fic! Until recently, I was going to write a Kakashi/Sakura fic, but then I remembered how much I love our dear Anko! I have a few notes to hand out first before you start reading:

1. I am an American. I do not know or particularly care for the Japanese title system. I skip over it when I read fanfics, so I will not use it outside of the word Sensei. I am going by the English dub because I like it. No offense to anyone. Haha

2. I am in the process of watching all the Naruto episodes. I have only seen a few Shippuden eps since I lost the channels that air the show a long, long time ago. I've been using Naruto Wiki to catch up, so any mistakes, chalk it up to creative license I guess.

3. I do not like Anko's voice replacement in the Land of the Sea Arc and onward. I imagine her original voice in this story. It's much better. lol

4. This will be a slow moving story I think. I go back to school at the end of August, so I will try to post regularly before that. When I get back to school, well you know how that is. Updates will be fewer until I'm on break again.

Anywho, now that I've bored you with all that nonsense, here's the first chapter of my new story!

_Chapter One: The Lost Mitarashi Returns_

The final fight with Obito was decided. Kakashi had come out the victor, and as much as it pained him inside to have had to relive the death of his comrade-this time by his own hand-he knew that it couldn't have ended any other way. Obito was no longer the kind-hearted boy Kakashi had once known, and the safety of Kakashi's new teammates was much more important to him than the shadow of a boy he had once called his friend.

He and Gai had let Naruto, Sakura and Hinata carry on with the mission while they took Neji back to Konoha. They weren't sure when a funeral could be held for the Hyuga, but they knew he would wish to be back in his own village instead of left behind at the site of his death.

With heavy hearts, the two men deposited Neji's body at the hospital to be tended to, at which point the nurses treated Kakashi's and Gai's wounds, then they headed for Hokage Tower to inform Lady Tsunade of the newest development of the war.

"I see," said Tsunade, her fingers laced in front of her face, elbows resting on her desk. "At least we can say one facet of this war has been taken care of." Her eyes narrowed and she looked down in remorse. "It's a shame we had to lose Neji Hyuga..."

"Agreed," said Gai, his usual vigor absent in the face of such tragedy. "Neji was truly one of a kind. No doubt we will all miss him."

The three shared in a moment of silence before Tsunade shifted her eyes to Kakashi.

"Speaking of which...Hatake, I have another assignment for you."

Kakashi waited expectantly for her to explain.

"Tokuma Hyuga and Muta Aburame contacted the Shinobi Allied Forces to inform them that they had found the Akatsuki base and that they were mobilizing for war. However...Anko Mitarashi was their team leader. She had sent them to alert the Allied Forces while she went looking for Kabuto. She hasn't returned, and that was a number of days ago. Tokuma and Muta returned this morning. I want you to accompany them on their search for her."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, Lady Hokage."

"Shizune!"

A few short moments later, Tsunade's assistant entered the room. "Yes, M'lady?"

"Find Tokuma and Muta and bring them here. Tell them Kakashi will be acting as their new team leader to retrieve Anko."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade, right away."

As Shizune left, Tsunade turned her attention to Gai. "Gai, I want you to round up a few Shinobi and head for the Akatsuki base." She pulled out a mission scroll from her desk and handed it to him. "Here you'll find the location of the base as reported to us by Muta and Tokuma. Other teams are already there, but we need all the man-power we can get."

"Yes, Lady Hokage, of course."

"Right then, you may go. And good luck."

Gai nodded and bowed before exiting the room, leaving Kakashi alone with Tsunade.

* * *

"You're sure you left her here?"

"Yes," said Tokuma. "She told us she was going to look ahead that way." He pointed to the right.

"We guessed she was going after Kabuto..." said Muta. "I wish she hadn't gone alone."

"Honestly, I doubt she made it if she found him."

Kakashi sighed and looked in the direction Tokuma had pointed. It had been nearly a week since last anyone had seen the Special Jonin. Even he had to concede that if they found her, it wasn't likely that she would be alive. Kabuto had grown too powerful after absorbing his former master's power.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Kakashi wearily. "Let's go."

The three men set off, scouring the forest up and down, but there was no sign of the lost Mitarashi. They searched through the night, only stopping to rest for a little while. A few enemy ninja showed up, but Kakashi and the others beat them quickly and easily before they resumed their mission.

It wasn't until late the next morning that they found a cave they decided should be searched. The three Jonin were cautious as they entered the dark cavern, but Tokuma's Byakugan revealed that there were no traps. He did note, however, that there was someone inside the cave with them.

"Their chakura is only barely flowing," he noted.

"You think it's her?" asked Muta.

Tokuma focused his Byakugan to see far into the cave until he could make out the features of the person whose chakura he had sensed. "...Yes. It's her."

Tokuma and Muta followed Kakashi as they hurried toward their fallen comrade. They knelt beside her, and Kakashi gently rolled her onto her back, checking her vital signs.

"Her pulse is weak, but she's alive...barely."

"It looks as if she's comatose," commented Muta.

Kakashi examined her body and saw that she hadn't suffered any visibly fatal wounds, but he knew that Kabuto had to have done quite a number on her if she'd been unconscious for days.

"We have to get her back to the village," said Kakashi, easily lifting Anko onto his back. "If there's a chance she'll survive, Lady Tsunade is probably that chance."

The other two nodded, and the three of them rushed back to Konoha as quickly as they could.

* * *

"I've done all I can to heal her injuries," said Lady Tsunade as she stood in the hallway with the three Jonin assigned to retrieve Anko. "She had some internal bleeding, and it's hard to say whether she'll completely recover from it. For now, she's still comatose. I have no idea if or when she'll wake up, but we have IVs running to keep her body nourished. She's severely dehydrated and it's unlikely that she's had anything to eat since last you two saw her."

The Hyuga and the Aburame nodded.

"I hope she'll be okay," said Tokuma. Muta agreed. "Can we see her?"

Tsunade gave them the go ahead before announcing that she had other patients to see. Kakashi was left in the hallway, leaning against the wall while he watched Anko's teammates enter her room and close the door. It was only after the two of them left the hospital some minutes later that Kakashi stepped into the room to check on her for himself.

Kakashi couldn't say that he'd ever really been friends with Anko. In fact, he happened to recall many arguments with the headstrong woman. However, after his battle with Obito, he found himself taking stock of all the people in his life, friends, acquaintances, enemies and passers-by. During the retrieval mission, Kakashi had found himself thinking of how different Anko was from all those who had been taken in by Orochimaru-and how she was different from Obito. No matter what life threw at her, Anko had never lost her heart to the darkness that seemed to overtake so many good people. She may not have been a match for Kabuto on the battlefield, but she showed more guts, heart and determination than the rogue medical ninja ever would, and for that, Kakashi admired her.

As he stood staring down at the unconscious woman in the hospital bed, he found himself desperately hoping that she would be okay. They had all lost too many friends and fellow ninja; the village would be mourning its losses for years to come.

Out of habit, Kakashi pressed his fingers to her wrist, noting that her pulse was a little stronger than before. He gave a quiet sigh of relief. There was hope.

Sending one last prayer to higher powers for the safety of Konoha and its ninja, Kakashi silently left the room.

* * *

Her brain was foggy as she tried to decipher where she was and what had happened, not to mention why she felt so exhausted and drained of energy. She lay there with her eyes closed, trying to recall the last thing that had happened to her.

She remembered finding Kabuto and fighting him. Had she lost? Where was she now?

She moved her fingers experimentally and found the softness of bed sheets beneath her and a blanket covering her. She also noted that she wasn't wearing her usual mesh and trench coat.

Birds were chirping somewhere to her right and she felt heat on her face, so she assumed that wherever she was, there was a window. The room smelled sterile but she could also smell the fresh air that swept in from outside.

She then realized her mouth tasted like sandpaper and she gave a small grimace. She was hungry and thirsty.

It took several minutes before she was finally able to open her eyes, having to blink multiple times before her vision adjusted to the brightness. Indeed, there was a window and she was in a bed. Unfortunately, it wasn't her bed. The white walls and sheets told Anko that she was in the hospital. She frowned, trying to remember the end of her fight with Kabuto...

_I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that bastard beat me..._

Anko heard the door to her room slide open and she slowly turned her head to see Shizune walking in. The med-nin drew in a surprised breath before she smiled.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Anko watched Shizune hurry to her bedside, finding it difficult to speak.

"Wha...what happened?"

Shizune's smile faltered. "I'm afraid you lost your fight with Kabuto. Days went by before we could send a team to find you. You've been unconscious ever since."

Anko's eyes narrowed. "And how long ago...was that?"

Shizune hesitated. "Over a month."

"A month?!" cried Anko, shooting up into a sitting position only to immediately feel light-headed and sick. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as she held her head, Shizune rushing to aid her in lying back on the bed.

"Careful! You have to rest, Anko. Your wounds may have healed, but though we've had IVs hooked up to you to keep your body nourished, you're bound to be weak after being unconscious for so long. You need to take it easy."

Anko grimaced. "Right..." It took a few minutes for her to not feel as if she wanted to vomit-though she knew she had nothing in her stomach to throw up (she really didn't want to start with dry heaves). Then she looked toward the window and noticed a vase of flowers on the bedside table.

"Who's been here?"

Following Anko's gaze, Shizune smiled lightly. "I suspect Sakura and Ino. They've made it their custom to deliver flowers to their injured friends whenever they get the chance."

Anko briefly wondered if anyone else had come to see her, or if they had all been too busy with the war.

"You've had a lot of other visitors, too," said the med-nin, and if Anko had been in a shaper state, she might have commented on Shizune's remarkable mind-reading skills.

Instead, she turned back to the nurse with a different question. "What's happened since I've been out of it?"

* * *

Kakashi made his way directly to the reception desk, the receptionist already knowing the reason he was stopping by. He had several people to visit in the hospital, and he had been there every day for the past week. As per usual, he signed his name to the visitor sheet, then gave a nod to the receptionist before turning to head down the long hallway.

But before he could even clear the waiting room, Shizune had come through the doorway holding a clipboard and examining the contents of the file it held. When she looked up upon seeing his shoes, she donned a cheerful smile.

"Kakashi! You're just in time. She's awake."

The Copy Ninja stood a little straighter. "I assume you mean Anko?"

Shizune nodded. "Mhm. She's still really weak and she was falling in and out of sleep while I changed her IVs, but I have every confidence that she'll be fine now that she's regained consciousness."

"Well, that's good to hear. I suppose I'll drop in on her first, then, you know, to give her my best wishes."

"I'm sure she would appreciate that."

* * *

Anko wanted to stay awake, she really did. A month of inaction was more than she could handle-and she'd been out cold longer than that. But unfortunately, she had to concede that Shizune was right. It would take awhile before she regained her strength, and Anko, as painful as it was, would have to be patient.

That didn't change the fact that she felt frustrated at feeling so tired when she'd been asleep for so long.

On the bright side, though, she had to smile at herself upon remembering the good news that Shizune had relayed to her. The war was over. Naruto, that little troublemaker, was still alive and had saved the village. Sasuke was back on Konoha's side, retrieved from the darkness that had clouded his heart.

And Anko was free of the curse mark.

It was a strange feeling, and with how sleepy she felt, it wasn't hard for her to imagine that she was dreaming. To be free of all traces of Orochimaru was a dream she had wished so desperately would come true, but she had never thought she would ever escape that terrible shadow. Perhaps when she was restored to her former health, she would finally find peace in her life.

Her eyes remained closed and she took comfort from the warm bed as well as the rays of sun that fell across her. She was somewhere between being awake and being asleep when she heard the door slide open again.

It took a mighty effort to open her eyes again, but when she did, she was surprised at who stood beside her, hands in his pockets.

She smirked weakly, managing a teasing tone. "Well, Hatake. Fancy meeting you here."

"Anko," he acknowledged simply with a nod of his head. "I see you're awake. Welcome back to the world of the living."

Again, she let her eyes fall closed. "What do you want?"

"Do I have to want something?"

She didn't answer, and he wondered if she's fallen asleep again. After a few moments of silence passed, he turned for the door again.

"Kakashi."

He stopped.

"Thanks..." she murmured.

After a brief pause, he looked over his shoulder to see that she had fallen asleep again, her lips slightly parted as her chest rose and fell with her slower breathing. Her head was still tilted in his direction.

He smiled to himself, knowing she would be alright.

* * *

"You're doing much better this time, Sensei," Ino encouraged as she and Sakura walked down the hallway with Anko. It had been a few weeks since she'd woken from her coma, and she had been working hard to recover the strength she had lost.

"Believe me, I'm trying," Anko replied good-naturedly with a grin, stopping briefly to rest as she leaned on her crutches. "Man, I hope I never have to do this again. It's such a pain."

"I'm sure it is," said Sakura, remembering back a few years ago to when Lee was badly injured during the Chunin exams. It had taken him a long time to recover. "But you'll be back to your old self in no time, trust me!"

"I sure hope so!"

"Hello Sakura, Ino, Anko."

The three kunoichi looked up when they heard the familiar voice of the Copy Ninja.

"Hey Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura greeted cheerfully.

"Hey!" said Ino.

"What's up?" asked Anko.

"Oh, just doing my usual rounds now that I'm back from a courier mission. What are you three up to?"

"We're just helping Anko-Sensei to regain the strength in her legs," Ino supplied. "She's made a lot of progress."

"Mhm," agreed Sakura with a nod.

"Awe, you guys are so sweet," said a now grinning Anko.

"Hm, guess that means she'll be back to terrorizing the village before we know it, right?"

"Hey!"

Ino and Sakura giggled.

"I only terrorize the people I care about."

"Then you must really care about Naruto, huh?" asked Sakura.

Anko laughed. "I gotta admit, I'm kinda fond of that knucklehead! Besides, it's fun to mess with him. He scares so easy."

"Well, you are pretty scary..." Ino mused with a thoughtful frown.

"Ino, Sakura." Shizune was hurrying down the hall behind Kakashi and came to a stop beside him. "Lady Tsunade needs to speak with you both. She would like you to see her right away."

The two girls looked at each other, then back to Shizune.

"Alright, but can we take Anko-Sensei back to her room first?" asked Ino.

"I'll take care of it." All four women looked at Kakashi. "You guys go on. You know the Hokage hates to be kept waiting." He gave his signature one-eye-crinkle in reassurance.

"Okay," said Sakura. "Thanks Kakashi-Sensei."

The two rushed off, Ino calling over her shoulder, "You'd better take good care of her!"

Anko chuckled. "Yeah, Kakashi. You'd better listen to 'em."

"Hey, it's not like I was going to let you jump out a window or something. But, you know, if you don't have faith in my abilities, I suppose I'll just be on my way..."

She snorted and turned to head back to her room. "Ha, shut up, Hatake."

He chuckled and followed her, hands in his pockets. "So, how are you feeling overall?"

"Eh, could be better, could be worse. You know how these things go."

"You tired?"

"Getting there. I've been trying to stay awake longer, but my body disagrees with my decision."

"The road to recovery is a fine line to walk. You shouldn't push yourself too hard, but on the flip side, if you don't push yourself at all, you'll never regain your strength and your health."

"Ya don't have to tell me."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to her room. Kakashi opened the door for Anko and she shuffled to her bed to sit down, now feeling exhausted. Setting the crutches aside, she let out a long breath.

"Man, I'm beat."

"Have you eaten anything?"

Anko took off her trench coat, which had been draped over her shoulders, and tossed it into a nearby chair. She was grateful to be able to wear her normal clothes again. "Not since this morning..."

Kakashi saw her mild grimace and he chuckled. "Am I to assume you're tired of hospital food."

She smiled. "You got that right. That stuff's terrible."

"Hm. How bout this: you lay down and rest and I'll bring you something good to eat. How's that?"

Anko looked up at him, a bit taken aback by the offer. "You don't have to do all that."

He shrugged. "I have nothing better to do. I'll finish up my visits here at the hospital, then I'll head into town and see what I can find for you."

She gave a genuine smile of gratitude this time. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it." He turned toward the door with a wave. "Be back in a bit."

Once the door had closed behind him, Anko leaned back on the bed, pulling her sheets back over her before she closed her eyes.

* * *

She sat up in her bed, watching a few birds fly around the tree outside her window. The sun was low in the sky now and it would be nightfall in a few hours. When she heard the door open, she figured it was just a nurse checking up on her, and so she was taken by surprise when a familiar male voice filled the room.

"Sorry I'm so late," said Kakashi with a guilty grin, brown paper bag in hand. "I met up with Gai, and...well, you know how that goes."

Anko chuckled. "Save your excuses. We all know you're pathologically late."

"And you're pathologically early. So it evens out."

She scoffed then looked to the paper bag expectantly. "So, whadya bring me?"

"Oh nothing much," said Kakashi, handing her the bag. "But it's bound to be better than what they serve here."

Anko opened the bag and beamed when she saw the rice balls, fish and ramen. "This looks awesome. Thanks." She did a double check to see if there was anything else in the bag and her eyes lit up as she pulled out her favorite dumplings. "Aw man! You got me the best dangos around! You must want something from me if you're bribing me with these!"

Kakashi laughed quietly. "No, it's not a bribe." He shrugged. "The whole village knows how much you like them. I didn't even have to pay the chef when I told him you were in the hospital. Said you're his best customer."

"Guess I'll have to thank Akito when I get the chance. Thanks a lot, Hatake."

"You're welcome," said Kakashi with a smile that was hidden by his mask.

* * *

"It looks like you've recovered pretty well. In fact, there's really no reason for you to stay here at the hospital anymore."

Anko beamed at Shizune. "You mean I can go home, right?"

Shizune returned the cheerful smile. "Yep."

"Sweet!"

"But, you will still have to come see us twice a week so we can monitor your progress. And you won't be allowed on any serious missions until you've been cleared by me and the rest of the medical corp."

"Yeah, yeah, I already figured that much. I'm just glad I get to go home."

Shizune signed her name to the outpatient sheet with a flourish of her pen. "I'll leave this with the receptionist when you're ready to leave. Be sure to sign it on your way out."

"Gotcha. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Remember, if you need anything or you start with any unusual pain or sickness, come see us right away."

Anko nodded and Shizune left the room. For a few seconds, Anko simply sat there, staring at the door. Then she grinned again. "Alright!" She jumped to her feet, gathering all her belongings and heading for the door. "I'm so outta here!"

"Hey, you're feeling better I see," said the receptionist as Anko strode up to the desk. "Just sign your name here and you'll be all set."

Anko took the clipboard that was handed to her and signed on the line marked with an x. She then handed the document back the lady before she turned to leave.

"See you!" called the receptionist with a polite smile.

Anko looked back over her shoulder as she walked down the hall. "Not too soon I hope!"

The receptionist giggled at that.

Anko stretched, raising her arms high above her head as she walked out into the fresh, unsterilized air. She'd been able to take a few short walks around the village, but otherwise, she hadn't left the hospital for two months (three if you counted when she'd still been in a coma). Visitors had helped a little, but there was nothing better than being able to wander freely around the village. And no bed was better than her own. If she hadn't had so much energy to blow off, she would have gone straight to her apartment, flopped onto her bed and snuggled with her pillows until she fell asleep on her familiar mattress in her oh-so-cozy blankets.

As she made her way aimlessly through the busy streets of Konoha, she saw Ino heading toward the Yamanaka Flower Shop, no doubt having just returned from a delivery run. The blond spotted the older woman just before she reached the door, and she smiled.

"Anko-Sensei! You're out of the hospital!"

Anko scratched the back of her head as she approached the girl who had once been part of her squad on the mission to the Land of the Sea a few years back. "Ah, they let me out early on good behavior."

"Pft, right...Sure they did. They probably wanted to keep you from swiping the wheelchairs and racing the elderly folks down the hall."

"That was one time! Honest!"

Ino laughed. "Yeah, but it sure was funny anyway!"

"Hey Ino! Whatcha-ah-ahhh!" Naruto skidded to a halt next to the Yamanaka when he saw the crazy exam proctor. "Ehhh...What's she doin' here?"

Ino glowered at him. "Really, Naruto? She just got out of the hospital. Show a little decency, will you?"

"Oh yeah...you were in the hospital, weren't ya? Huh...Guess that means you're ok, then, right?"

"You bet," said Anko. She narrowed her eyes at him mischievously. "And I hear you played a big part in helping to end the war."

Naruto actually had the decency to blush as he grinned. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I had a lot of help though..." He wasn't sure he liked the look in her eyes...

Anko threw an arm around his shoulders. "Well, well! Look at you. A big hero! I bet there are a lot of girls chasing after that cute, spiky head of yours, huh?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he leaned his head as far away from her as possible. "Uh...no...not really..."

Anko pulled back and frowned at him. "Huh. You don't say."

"Please," said Ino. "I honestly don't know what girl in her right mind would ever date him, hero or not. He's still the same old Naruto."

The Kyuubi Vessel was offended by this. "Hey! I've changed! And who wouldn't love this handsome face?"

Ino shoved a hand in his 'handsome face,' not bothering to even spare him a glance. "I wouldn't."

Anko laughed. "You guys are too much. Hey, maybe I'll see ya around, okay?"

Ino smiled. "Sure thing, Anko-Sensei. Glad you're feeling better."

Naruto just grumbled to himself, arms crossed. Anko waved to them both as she headed off in another direction. She shook her head. Naruto Uzumaki; always full of surprises. Boy had he grown a lot since she'd last seen him. He really did look like his father, The Fourth, may he rest in peace. She really _was _surprised that he didn't have any fan girls chasing after him, especially when it was rumored that he probably would become Hokage someday.

Anko snorted as she tried to imagine the hyperactive boy sitting at a desk filling out paperwork.

As Anko passed through the market district, she looked around at various stands where vendors sold everything from books to weapons to food and more. It was in passing one of these stands that she saw fresh blueberries for sale, and man did they look good! Pulling out her wallet, she handed the vendor the allotted price and took a pint of the delicious-looking fruit. She ate the berries with a happy smile as she continued on through the village.

She saw many familiar faces during her wanderings, and she stopped to talk to each one, catching up on all that she'd missed while she'd been removed from the hubbub of the outside world. Genma offered to treat her to lunch sometime while Izumo and Kotetsu hugged her, grateful for her return to her old self. Anko passed Gai and Lee who also expressed their joy at her remarkable recovery, claiming once again that Lady Tsunade was a most excellent medic. She even passed Hinata, Kiba and Shino and had spent several minutes conversing with the three.

Finally ready to head to her apartment, Anko headed toward the east part of town. Judging by the position of the sun, it was roughly four in the afternoon. Anko mused that a nice bath would certainly be welcomed followed by a home-cooked dinner-

"Damn it!" She stopped and stomped her foot. "I have no food in my apartment...I emptied my kitchen before going to search for the Akatsuki..."

She dropped her head with a sigh. Why couldn't she have remembered that when she'd been in the market district? Knowing she had to get some groceries, she turned around and headed for the small store a few blocks away. Half an hour later, she was back en route to her apartment, two brown paper bags in her arms.

"Need help with those?"

Anko turned to find Kurenai falling into step beside her. "If you really want to take one," she said cheerfully, holding out a bag to the black-haired kunoichi.

Kurenai smiled and took it. "I take it you're back to your old self?"

"Getting there. Almost forgot I needed to restock my refrigerator. Haven't seen my apartment in a few months."

"Well at least you remembered before you got there."

"Right? So how are you doing? Haven't seen you much at all."

The older woman looked down at the ground as they walked, her expression suddenly sullen. "I've been getting along. Day by day, you know how these things go. I've had so much help from Shikamaru, though, so it's not too bad."

Anko frowned as she looked ahead. "The baby's okay, right?"

Kurenai nodded with a faint smile. "Yes, he's fine. He has a whole village full of people that love him, and he will grow up knowing that his father died a brave man."

Anko glanced sideways. "He'll know his mother's brave, too. In fact, he'll grow up to be proud of his whole village and every person in it."

"That he will."

Kurenai walked back to Anko's apartment and helped her put away the groceries, then the two women sat and talked about the recent goings-on, the older of the two sharing stories about the young little Kenta and his adventures with his uncles Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba. She said that Hinata dropped by quite often to play with the toddler as well and even Naruto had seen fit to take the little guy under his wing when he wasn't on a mission.

"I feel guilty for always having to leave him, but at least I'm never far. Lady Tsunade only gives me small missions within the village, so I'm never away from home for more than a few hours at a time. Still..."

"Well, I'm not really cut out for babysitting, but if you want, I can ask Lady Tsunade if I can take some of those missions off your hands. I'll be laid off from real serious missions for awhile, but there's no reason I can't run errands if you feel like you need to be at home with your kid."

"Thank you, Anko. I appreciate that very much. Perhaps I'll bring that up the next time I see the Hokage."

Anko stifled a huge yawn and Kurenai chuckled. "Looks like you could use some rest."

The purple-haired kunoichi grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, looks like it, doesn't it? Still not one-hundred percent yet."

"It will take awhile," Kurenai amended as she stood from the sofa she was seated on. Anko sat on the couch opposite her, a coffee table between them. "I'd better get home. Since Shikamaru's out on a mission, Kiba volunteered to watch Kenta this afternoon. God only knows what the two of them have gotten into."

Anko stood as well as she shook the other woman's hand. "Right. Hopefully your house will still be standing."

"Hey, don't joke about that. Last time I left Kenta with Choji, I didn't recognize my kitchen." The two women laughed before Anko walked with Kurenai to the door. "It was nice seeing you, and up on your feet, too."

"Same. Say hello to your little boy for me. And let me know if you need anything."

"I will."

Once the Sarutobi widow was gone, Anko decided she couldn't wait until after a bath to eat, so she whipped up some pork and rice, taking the liberty of eating a few cookies for desert. Her belly finally satisfied, she headed for the bathroom.

Words could not describe the feeling of joy that a tub of hot water had brought her. Showers were alright, but nothing beat soaking in a nice warm bubble bath. She took her time washing her hair before slowly running the washcloth over pale skin. Anko frowned a little, noting that she needed to get out in the sun more. Being cooped up in the hospital had turned her into a ghost.

After rinsing the soap from her body, she pulled the plug and stood up to grab her towel. She scrubbed it over her head to dry her hair as she stepped out of the tub before wrapping it around her middle, then began to brush her teeth before running her comb through her short, violet locks.

Satisfied and refreshed, she padded into her bedroom, hung her towel on the bottom bedpost, then flopped down on top of her sheets with a contented sigh. She was home at last, and it felt so good. Pulling her sheets up over her naked form, Anko closed her eyes with a smile.

There really was no place like home.


	2. Chapter 2: Idle Hands

_Chapter Two: Idle Hands_

Three. Two. One. And finished. The last nail had been pounded in, and all the shingles were properly secured. Kakashi wiped his brow and looked down to see his teammates finishing up the porch and dusting off their hands. Jumping down to the ground, he joined up with the others.

"Finished?"

One of his fellow ninja nodded. "Yep. Looks like our job here is complete."

"Oh thank you all so much." The client, who was a widowed female with three children, had just arrived back at her house to check up on the progress of the rebuilding, and to her astonishment, she found it looking better than ever. Her children clung to her skirts. "It looks wonderful. I don't know how we can ever repay you."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head with a friendly smile. "No need for payment. The entire village is doing their share in the reconstruction project."

The woman frowned and lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry...I'm not much help at all. My husband was such a handy man and a great Shinobi, but..."

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi said reassuringly. "You have your kids to raise and that is where you are needed. You just leave the hard work to us."

She blushed and smiled at the ninja's kind words, thanking him again before he and the other Shinobi left. Kakashi told the others that they could grab a bite to eat and that he would update the Hokage on the reconstruction details.

The Hokage Tower was almost empty except for a few passing ninja, and Shizune of course, who rushed down the stairs passed the Copy Ninja with a stack of papers in her hands. No doubt she was headed to the hospital to check on her patients. She had shouted a quick greeting as she flew by him.

Upon reaching the appropriate floor, Kakashi meandered down the hallway toward the Hokage's office door, stopping just outside when he heard voices on the other side. Not wanting to intrude, having no problem waiting his turn, he pulled out his orange book and began to read. Being the excellent ninja that he was, he could hear the conversation on the other side of the door as he perused his novel.

"I have no problem completing any task you give me, however Anko already seems desperate to have something to do, even if it's running messages back and forth from job sites. I told her I'd bring it up to you."

Tsunade studied Kurenai as she absentmindedly stroked Ton Ton's back, the stylish little pig sleeping soundly on her lap. "I was told by Shizune that she needs more rest. I suppose a few small jobs couldn't hurt. I'll have to think about it and consult with Shizune before I make a final decision. For now though, run these papers to Shikaku and Chouza."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

Kurenai bowed and headed for the door. When she pushed it open, she looked a little surprised at who stood just outside.

"Kakashi."

"Hello Kurenai," he acknowledged, looking up from his book. "Anko broke out of the hospital I take it?"

Kurenai gave a small smile. "Something like that. You going in?"

Kakashi nodded and took the door as Kurenai walked back down the hallway. He stepped inside the Hokage's office. "Lady Hokage," he greeted respectfully.

"Ah, Hatake. Just the man I wanted to see. I take it you have an update for me?"

"Yes. The project is coming along nicely. I foresee another month or so of work before all the repairs are complete, but with the whole village involved, everyone's spirits are high."

"Good. And the Michiri household?"

"Good as new."

"Hm. Good work. I suppose since you've been working so hard, you've earned a break. Take the rest of the day off to recuperate. I'll expect you to report back to me in the morning for a new assignment. The rebuilding of this village is imperative in order to keep Konoha's strong reputation in tact."

"I understand. Well, if I'm free to go...?"

"Yes, you may leave." Tsunade waved a hand at him to shoo him from her office.

"Then I guess I'll grab a bite to eat myself. Good day, Lady Hokage."

* * *

Hungry was an understatement. Kakashi was downright ravenous. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast early that morning, and after putting in a hard day of work, his stomach was protesting mightily. Even so, he didn't think he felt up to eating out. No, he would wait until he got home, whip something up, then maybe he would read for a while before crashing out in his bed.

He looked up at the bright, blue sky. Yeah, that definitely sounded like a plan.

As he walked home, his pace and stance relaxed, he stopped outside of a set of apartments, turning to look at them. It wasn't his apartment building, but he knew a few people that lived in it, one of them being Anko. He hadn't been able to visit the hospital much, what with all the running around he was doing for the Hokage and the construction jobs he'd been given. But Kurenai had said that the snake kunoichi had been released to go home.

Kakashi stared at the building for some time, wondering if he should be nice and stop by to see how she was feeling. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he wanted to muck up his quiet evening with Anko's craziness, but he figured he ought to make sure she was doing alright. So, reluctantly, and with a heavy sigh (wondering why he had to be such a nice guy), he entered the complex, checked the resident sheet to find which room was hers, and headed up the stairs.

* * *

Anko lay on her back on her couch, clad only in her mesh and mini skirt, her head and feet propped up on the armrests as she watched her ceiling fan spin around, and around, and around, and around, and around...

And around...

She flipped over onto her stomach with a huff, folding her arms on the armrest and placing her chin over top of them. "Man, it's only been two days, and I'm bored as hell."

She had wandered around the village like she had the other day, but everyone seemed much too busy to even talk. Not that she wanted to interrupt their important tasks, but still. It all only made her feel left out. She wanted action, she wanted to work. She wanted to do something, even if it meant pounding nails on one of those construction sites.

She had thought briefly about going to ask Lady Tsunade for a job herself, but upon seeing Shizune, she thought better of it, knowing full well she'd be told 'no missions.'

She buried her face in her arms with a grunt of annoyance. After a few moments of lying there motionless, she lifted her head and stood from the couch.

"That's it! I can't sit around here anymore. I've gotta find something to do!"

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Hm?" Anko turned toward her door, looking at it curiously. She didn't normally get visitors at her apartment. She wondered if it was Kurenai. She could only hope the other woman had found something to keep her busy.

But when Anko cracked open her door, she narrowed her eyes upon finding Kakashi on the other side.

"Kakashi?" She crossed her arms and leaned on the doorjamb. "What the hell are you doing here?" _He_ had certainly never showed up there before.

"That's a fine greeting for someone who was only concerned for the wellbeing of a fellow ninja."

"Well sorry, but you've gotta admit, it's pretty odd that you're here."

"Er...true. I saw Kurenai earlier. Just thought I'd, ya know, see how you were doing."

"I'm fine if you don't count being extremely bored. Everyone else is busy and I'm stuck here doing nothing. It's driving me insane!"

"You mean more so than usual?"

She glowered at him. "Watch it..."

"What? I thought you took pride in being crazy."

"You wanna come in, or are you just gonna stand in the hall all day?" she said, standing straight and opening the door a bit wider to invite him inside.

"Actually, I wasn't planning on staying. I've had a long day, and unlike you, I'd really welcome the solitude."

Anko placed her hands on her hips. "So you just show up to tease me? You won't even stay and talk for awhile?"

"We've been talking for a few minutes now," he observed conversationally.

Her eye twitched. "You know what I mean, Hatake!"

"Have you tried visiting Ibiki?"

She blinked back at him. "Ibiki? No. Why? I figure he's busy."

"I saw him the other day. He mentioned he'd been wondering about you, hoping you were okay. He _has_ been busy, but...I'm sure if you went to see him, he would make time for you."

He turned to leave, but she ran after him and blocked his path.

"Really? That's all you've got for me?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. Take it or leave it."

Anko looked back at him, annoyed. "Not sure why you even bothered coming over. Got my hopes up for nothin'."

"I don't see why you're so disappointed. I'm not really the best company. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, we usually only argue with one another."

She slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Yeah, guess you're right. I'm just so damn tired of sitting around doing nothing!"

"You know what they say," said Kakashi with an eye-crinkle as he walked past her toward the stairwell. "Patience is a virtue."

She growled as she watched him walk away. "Ah, shut up, Hatake!"

Visit Ibiki, huh? She put a knuckle to her chin in thought as she looked up at the hallway ceiling. She supposed that wasn't such a bad idea, as long as he wasn't too engrossed in his work. Chances were that he was, though. Should she walk all the way to ANBU headquarters on the off chance that he might be on a break?

"Ah, what the hell. Not like I have anything better to do."

* * *

Five out of eight. Not bad. Only a few left to go. Ibiki glanced at each interrogation file in turn, trying to find connections between the five ninja who'd finally divulged their secrets. So far, nothing matched up, which led him to the conclusion that each of the prisoners were on separate jobs, all minor. Still, small threats needed to be handled quickly and efficiently before they turned out to be big problems.

He lifted his head when he heard a commotion outside his office door. His guards were insisting that he was busy and that they would not allow anyone to disturb his work. Another very pushy-and very familiar-voice told his guards to shut up since she had the proper security clearance to be there.

A small scuffle was heard followed by a muffled, "Get out of the way!" Then the metal door swung open.

Ibiki grinned despite himself, setting the files down and leaning back in his chair.

"Anko Mitarashi...Why am I not surprised that you'd defy the orders of my guards?"

She returned his grin as she stepped into the room and wandered in the direction of his desk. "I figure you owe me one after not hearing from ya in, oh, say, a few months."

"Yeah, well, it hasn't exactly been slow around here. Would have sent you a get well card if I was the sentimental type, but I'm not..."

"You shoulda. Would've given me a good laugh."

"So, what is it that you want exactly?"

"I don't want anything. Just a visit."

The master interrogator looked slightly suspicious. "No ulterior motive?"

"Nope. Just bored." She sat on the front of his desk and swung her legs, an innocent smile on her face.

Ibiki chuckled and stood, hands behind his back as he stepped around his desk. "You seem well recovered. You look good anyway. Then again, you always do. Just like you always know how to make an entrance."

"Eh, but that's why you love me, right?" she winked. "So how's the interrogation business goin'?"

"It goes...Even with the war at an end, the Leaf Village still has its enemies. It seems the smaller villages are hoping to get the jump on us while we're still recovering, but they really don't pose much of a threat."

"I see." Her eyes wandered somewhere to her left as she asked innocently, "You wouldn't happen to have a job for me, would ya?"

"Ah, so that's why you're here..." he mused.

"Yeah," she answered, letting out a breath. "I'm off active duty for awhile. Can't stand it."

"Hm. I can understand that. But unfortunately for you, our prisoners have been pretty loose with their intel. We haven't the need for your brand of...intimidation as of late."

Anko huffed. "Damn. Well there goes that idea."

Ibiki closed his eyes. "If it'll get you outta my hair, I'll promise to keep you informed when we _are_ in need of a deranged psychopath to make the hard-headed ones talk."

Anko gave a bark of laughter. "You'd better."

Ibiki smirked. "Now...get the hell out of my office, Mitarashi."

* * *

Oranges, golds and pinks stained the sky like brilliantly crafted brushstrokes as the sun began to set in the west, leaving the village covered in a hazy glow. Shopkeepers were tidying up around their stores and closing up for the night with the exception of restaurants and bars. A few children ran past her, probably on their way home for supper. As she looked around, she could still see a few people using the last rays of sunlight to put a few more touches onto the buildings that still needed to be rebuilt. Crows cawed as they flew overhead and the breeze set the shop banners flapping softly.

Despite her short visit with Ibiki, Anko still felt very much left out of things. As she walked slowly through the streets of Konoha, she thought about simply offering to lend a hand without asking for permission from either Shizune or the Hokage. Wouldn't do much good at that moment, since the jobs were nearly finished for the day, but maybe tomorrow...

Tomorrow she had to stop back by the hospital for a checkup, but after that, maybe she could sneak in some work to keep herself occupied. No one had to know.

"Please, please, please, please, please! Can we _please_ go to Ichiraku? I'll buy!"

"We ate there for lunch, Idiot."

"Yeah, Dickless, can't you pick someplace else?"

"But I want ramen sooooo bad! C'mon, Sakura!"

"Sai and Sasuke are right. I mean, you might be able to eat ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but the rest of us like variety."

"Aw, you're kidding me! How can you side with them?"

Well, Anko couldn't have asked for a better distraction from her boredom! She rubbed her hands together with a devious smile as she came closer to the four Chunin, plotting to make one of her famous entrances.

"Let's go, Naruto. We'll have ramen tomorrow."

"But I want it now!"

"Want what now?"

"AH!" Naruto jumped away when he heard Anko's voice next to his ear. "W-Where did you come from!?"

"Just passin' through." She looked to the others. "Sai, Sakura." They nodded to her in greeting. Then she looked to the fourth Chunin, her smile fading as she studied him. "Well, well...Sasuke Uchiha. It's been a long time since I've seen you."

The black-haired boy narrowed eyes as he took in the appearance of the woman in front of him. "Anko Mitarashi. The last time I saw you was..." he trailed off remembering his talk with the revived Orochimaru and his meeting with the previous Hokages. Naruto, Sakura and Sai glanced back and forth between the pair as the silence dragged on. Then Sasuke smirked and closed his eyes. "I guess in a way I should be thanking you. Without your Cursed Seal of Heaven, I would have never found out the truth, and the war may not have been over."

Anko stared at the boy, surprised. "What did you say?"

Sasuke leveled his gaze at her. "I'm the one who removed it. I needed to speak to Orochimaru, and it was the only way I could make that happen."

"And he helped you?" she asked skeptically. Suddenly the haunting memories of her time with Orochimaru came back to her, and she reached back to touch her left shoulder out of reflex.

"He didn't have much reason not to. He was already dead."

Sakura rubbed her arms as she shivered at the thought of the evil man who had started the fourth Shinobi war. "Can we talk about something else?"

Naruto was frowning. "Yeah, no joke. C'mon, the war's over. No need to talk about it now."

Anko let her hand fall as she continued to look at Sasuke. Then she gave a weak smile. "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you." Her smile turned into her usual grin. "Good to have you back, Uchiha."

"Right," he nodded.

"Okay, so can we eat now?"

"It still surprises me how much he thinks about food," said Sai.

"So! Ichiraku it is!" shouted Naruto, turning to march down the street.

"Hey, wait a minute!" called Sakura. "We didn't agree-"

"That actually sounds good right about now," said Anko. "Race ya to it!" She sped off after Naruto, quickly passing him up. "Last one there is Gai's dirty underwear!"

Naruto yelled in surprise. "Wha-no way!" He took off as fast as he could to catch up with her. "Bushier-Brow-Sensei's underwear?! That's disgusting! Why would you even think of that?!"

Sakura, Sai and Sasuke stared after them, all three releasing exasperated sighs. Sakura folded her arms over her chest. "Honestly, those two..."

"But I thought...Naruto didn't like Anko-Sensei," said Sai thoughtfully.

Sakura shrugged.

"C'mon. No sense standing around," said Sasuke, beginning to walk in the direction Anko and Naruto had disappeared. "Looks like they made up our minds for us."

"Great..."

"Oh no you don't! There's no way you're beating me to Ichiraku!" As Naruto leapt into the air, he performed a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The shadow clone that appeared beside Naruto in midair grabbed him and launched him further ahead of Anko before her created another shadow clone to do the same thing. Then he created another, and another, and another, each one launching him further and faster than Anko could move simply on two legs.

"Striking Shadow Snakes!"

Naruto yelped as the slithering reptiles wrapped themselves around his body before flinging him backwards. Two more snakes wound around his wrists to keep him from making hand signs. He soon passed Anko as she threw him behind her before she extended her shadow snakes forward so that they would grab onto a far off poll, pulling her closer to the ramen shop.

"What was that you were saying about me not beating you?" she called from way ahead of the blond boy who lay sprawled on a rooftop, trying to regain his bearings.

When he was able to stand up again, he zoomed ahead to try to catch her. "Hey, no fair! I was totally winning!"

Needless to say, Anko arrived at Ichiraku first, having let Naruto get ahead of her just so she could throw him back at the last minute, allowing her to be victorious. Once the son of the Fourth Hokage landed in front of the shop, he pushed aside the banners to find the snake lady already sitting at one of the stools, chopsticks in hand as she waited for her order to be set before her.

"You dirty cheat! I was gonna get here first!"

"But ya didn't, did ya? You're the one who decided to use shadow clones, so naturally my shadow snakes were fair game. And since you lost, you know what that means," she grinned.

"No way! I'm so not Bushier-Brow-Sensei's dirty underwear! I'm not even the last person here!"

"Yeah, but the others weren't racing."

Naruto growled and crossed his arms with an angry snort. "What are you doing here anyway, Anko-Sensei? Ichiraku doesn't sell your precious dumplings."

"As much as I love my dangos, they're not dinner. Maybe I'll stop by later and ask Akito to wrap me up some to take home," she mused more to herself than to Naruto. "Anyway, you don't have a problem with me being here, do ya?"

The blond boy slid his gaze to her face only to cringe at the unspoken threat of pain in her eyes if he answered in the affirmative.

"Err...No, no, of course not! Don't be silly!" he said, waving his hands in front of him.

"Hey, are you gonna order something or not?" demanded Teuchi as he set Anko's bowl down in front of her.

"Uh, oh yeah! Sorry! One pork miso ramen, please!"

"Comin' right up," said Teuchi as he turned back to his pots and pans.

"You guys couldn't have waited for us?" said Sakura as she and the other two boys joined Naruto and Anko. She took the seat next to Anko, which Naruto was vastly grateful for. He sat next to Sakura, Sasuke on his other side and Sai on the end. Naruto laughed a little.

"What can I say? I was hungry."

"That's nothing new," muttered Sasuke.

"Heck, a bit of a workout is just what I needed to get my blood pumpin'," said Anko as the other three ordered. "Layin' around all day, day after day was killin' me."

Naruto's ramen was set before him and he picked a pair of chopsticks from the container. "I know whatcha mean. I've had to stay in the hospital plenty of times, and believe me, all I want to do while I'm there is train."

"Yeah, and you usually just jump out the window and do what you want anyway," said Sakura.

Sai chuckled and Sasuke sniffed.

"Typical," said the Uchiha. "Still the same old Naruto."

* * *

"You're sure you're feeling okay? No headaches, no pain or sickness?"

"I'm telling ya, I'm fine."

Shizune studied her chart for another few moments, then flipped the pages back down onto the clipboard. "If you're sure. Your vitals still seem to be in order, but remember, you still shouldn't push yourself."

"I know, I know," said Anko, rolling her eyes. "I haven't been." She decided not to tell the head nurse about her race with the Uzumaki kid. She highly doubted Shizune would be too keen to hear that she'd gone so far as to use a Jutsu.

"Lady Tsunade and I talked about your medical record, and after determining that you don't seem to be suffering at all, it may be possible to authorize you for D-rank missions at the very least."

Anko looked as if she could have bounced out of her chair. "What? You're serious?"

Shizune nodded. "Yep. But _only_ D-ranks for now."

"You could give me Z-rank missions for all I care! I just hate sitting around doing nothing."

The other woman giggled. "I can imagine." Shizune scribbled something onto a piece of paper and handed it to Anko. "Show this to Lady Tsunade and she'll approve you for a mission. However, if your condition worsens, be prepared to be taken off of active duty completely."

"Right, got it. Thanks a lot." Anko stood and made her way out of the room. "To tell you the truth, I was gonna help out around the village with or without your permission anyway."

"IEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Squealed Shizune, horrified at the confession, but not knowing what to say to counter it.

The snake kunoichi simply chuckled as she left Shizune standing there speechless.

Damn straight! The first place Anko was headed after leaving the hospital was the Hokage's Tower! She took off at a dead run, eager to receive a mission and get it done. She nearly ran into Izumo and Kotetsu on her way down the hall.

As per usual, Anko disposed of all manners, not bothering to knock before she flung open Tsunade's office door.

"Anko," said the Hokage in surprise. Then she took on an annoyed expression. "What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?"

The special Jonin slapped the paper Shizune had given her down on the Hokage's desk. "Here, I'm cleared for missions. So what have got for me?"

Tsunade picked up the paper and read it before sighing. "I guess you checked out according to Shizune..."

"Yep. She said nothing was wrong with me."

The Sannin narrowed her eyes at Anko. "That's not quite accurate. She said you can't be given anything more than-"

"D-ranks, I know. Look, I don't care what you give me, as long as I don't have to twiddle my thumbs all day long."

"Ugh, you sound like Naruto."

"Pft, well he hasn't been out of commission for over three months."

"Here." Tsunade pulled out a scroll and handed it to Anko who took it with enthusiasm. "This is all you're getting for now, so don't push it."

"Alright, alright. Like I said, I could care less what you give me, as long as it's something."

Anko unrolled the scroll and read its contents. "So, a courier job, huh?"

"Yes. A section of shops is being rebuilt on the west side of the village. There was so much damage there that it's hard to make a list of what's needed for the repairs. Your job is to figure out what they need when they need it and place the order at the hardware store. This may require multiple trips, so it should keep you busy all day. You should have nothing to complain about."

"I'll get right on it."

The door creaked open and both women looked to the newcomer.

"Hatake...late as usual," said Tsunade, resting her cheek on her fist.

"Eh-heh, sorry...I was just-"

"Save it. Here." She tossed a scroll across the room to him, and he caught it with ease.

"You two might as well head out together. Kakashi, you'll be charged with assessing the damage and making the repairs while Anko places the orders."

Kakashi had begun reading the mission assignment only to glance over at the other Jonin in the room when the Hokage mentioned her. "So...I guess I'm stuck with you today."

She grinned. "Yep, looks like it."

"Joy."

"Now, now, play nicely. I'm counting on you two. Now get out of here. I need to do this damn paperwork, or Shizune will never let me hear the end of it."

Kakashi and Anko both bowed their heads respectfully before exiting the office. As they walked down the hall, Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. "What are the chances we'd be put on the same job?"

"You're just mad because you can't run away from me this time."

"I've never run away from you."

"You did yesterday."

"That wasn't running. That was avoiding."

Anko punched his arm, but it didn't faze him. "You were right. Don't know why I wanted your company anyway."

"See, I told you."

Anko stopped just as they made it outside. She turned to Kakashi. "Race ya?"

He stopped beside her, giving her an appraising look with his one visible eye. "Is that really wise? You're still recovering."

"Bullshit. I beat Naruto to Ichiraku for dinner last night."

Kakashi looked a little impressed. "Really? I wouldn't have thought it possible that he could lose a race for ramen."

"Well he did. So how bout it?"

The silver-haired Jonin thought for a moment as he stared back at her. Then he closed his eyes and faced forward. "Alright." He removed his hands from his pockets, taking a challenger's stance. Anko followed suit. "Ready?"

She nodded with a grin.

"On your mark. Get set. Go."

_Zoom!_ And she was off like a bat out of hell. Kakashi stood straight again as he chuckled, replacing his hands to their previous location. He walked lazily down the stairs from the tower, amused by how easily he was able to get rid of her. He would simply take the long way to the construction site to avoid getting caught when she finally realized he wasn't racing, because she would surely turn around to accost him for tricking her.

**A/N:** Haha, just so you all know, I don't have a complete plan. I had a few drabbles that I had written and I wanted to make a story to connect them (mostly because I hate plot-less drabbles), but everything in between will be written on a whim. I just have to say, I really like writing Anko. I know she would probably have more respect for Tsunade's authority than Naruto does, but she's impatient and bored, so she sort of forgot who she was talking to there at the end. xD Anyway, please review! More reviews means more incentive to keep writing!


	3. Chapter 3: Lot of Work, Little Play

_Chapter Three: A Lot of Work and a Little Play_

Anko looked over the list she had made as the master carpenter ticked off all the supplies they would need. Everything from two-by-fours and nails to doors and window frames. She asked him if they needed paint, but he'd told her they would wait on that until later, along with the trim pieces and the more decorative touches.

"This is everything then?"

"For now, yes. It may be that we need more of something later on, but that should do for the moment."

She nodded. "Right. I'll head downtown then and place the order."

"Thanks very much."

She took a quick glance at the work site and noticed Kakashi talking with a group of carpenters and other ninja, pointing to places here and there, surely voicing his observations. She wasn't sure why it surprised her that he was good at these sorts of things—building and what have you—, but it did.

Shrugging, Anko turned away from the scene and ran quickly in the direction of the hardware store. It took her about five minutes at nearly full speed to reach the shop. When she entered, an older gentleman who stood at the counter greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Welcome! What can I do for you?"

Anko held the list out to the man and he took it, his eyes scanning the page. "I need to place an order for these."

The old fellow's eyes widened. "Oh, it looks like quite a job!"

"It is. A whole line of shops."

"Well, I'm not surprised really. We're barely able to keep supplies in the store with all the reconstruction going on in the village. I assume this is on the Hokage's tab?"

"Yes, that's right."

"That's what I thought. Hanzu, Tenzu."

Two men with the same sandy brown, spiky hair stepped out of the back room. "Yes, Sir?"

"Get another wagon ready to be loaded up. I'll check the inventory to make sure we have all that's on this list, and you can take it down to the job site."

"Sure thing."

"I'll help," said Anko. "Another set of hands will make it go faster."

"That's very kind of you," said the old man.

It took about an hour by the time they were finished loading up two wagons full of supplies. Since it was so difficult to keep the store stocked, it was only natural that there weren't enough two-by-fours in the inventory. The old man promised that when the next shipment came in later that day, he would have one of his employees drive it out to the site.

Hanzu hopped up into one wagon while his brother took the other. Tenzu looked to Anko. "You're welcome to ride if you want."

She raised a hand and smiled. "Nah, I'm good. I prefer walking."

"Ok then. Lead on, Miss Mitarashi."

The return trip was much slower, as was expected, but it still didn't take too long to arrive back at the construction site where Anko noticed that most of the clearing away of debris and broken wood was nearly complete. Tenzu informed the master carpenter of the shortage of supplies, and the master carpenter nodded in understanding.

Kakashi and a few other men came over to help unload the wagons. He picked up a few boards and a big bucket of nails, noticing that Anko had picked up two boards as well and propped them up on her shoulder before following him toward the spot where they had begun making piles.

"I don't think heavy lifting was in your job description," he observed.

"It wasn't forbidden," she countered.

"Do you really think it's wise to be working so hard? After all, you're not fully recovered yet."

"What's your point?"

"My point is, you really shouldn't push yourself."

Anko pulled the boards from her shoulder and set them on their ends on the ground, her arm wrapped around them as she stopped to look directly at Kakashi. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Really."

"I just know that it takes a long time to recover your strength, especially after such a long time of inactivity. You should probably take it easy, otherwise you may end up getting hurt."

Anko stared at Kakashi for a moment, then she looked at him from under her eyelashes and smiled prettily, leaning her side into him a little, her heard almost resting on his shoulder. "That's so sweet, Hatake. I never knew you cared so much. But I'm a big girl, and weak is something I'm not." She pulled away from him and swung the two-by-fours back onto her shoulder. "Remember who I trained under after all." She winked at him, then moved away.

Kakashi watched her curiously, thinking in the very back of his mind that she was quite pretty when she wasn't playing the psycho, but then her last comment brought him back to reality, and he remembered whom exactly he was conversing with. He sighed. "How could I forget?" he said almost sarcastically as he moved after her.

For the rest of the morning, Anko set herself to the task of fetching supplies and taking them to the workers who asked for them. She also decided that helping hold beams into place while others secured them was not 'over-doing it', though she noticed Kakashi glance at her a few times, as if he thought she might collapse.

She hadn't been lying to him when she had told him she was fine. She felt a little tired, but no more than she should. Anko made sure to drink plenty of water to keep herself hydrated since the day was pretty warm, and she didn't do anything too strenuous. All in all, she was proud of herself, simply happy to be of some use instead of lying around like a couch potato.

They worked until two in the afternoon before they took time out for a lunch break. The master carpenter called Anko over and gave her a new list of things to retrieve from the hardware store.

"Of course, it can wait until after lunch—"

"Nah, I'll pick something up on my way back through."

"You sure?"

"It's no problem at all." Anko stuffed the list into the pocket of her trench coat and picked up her water bottle. "Be back soon."

Uncapping her water, she took a drink of it as she walked down the street. She supposed since it was lunchtime anyway, there was no need to hurry. Then again, it did take awhile to load and unload the wagons...

"Mind if I join you?"

She glanced at Kakashi suspiciously. "What, you think I can't handle ordering supplies now?"

The Copy Ninja kept his lone eye facing forward. "No. I just wanted to come along."

"So let me get this straight...yesterday you ran away from me, and today you want my company?"

"I wasn't running away, I was avoiding. Anyway, yesterday I was too tired for company. Today I'm not."

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Alright, so you 'avoid' your friends unless it's convenient for you."

He glanced at her, then looked up at the sky. "Hm...I suppose we are friends, aren't we?"

"...I'm not sure if I should be offended by that statement or not."

He chuckled with an eye-crinkle. "Besides, I don't avoid my friends unless they annoy me."

"Okay, definitely offended!"

"Why? I just put you in the same category as Gai. You should be honored."

She swung her arm out and clipped him in the stomach. "Jerk!"

Kakashi rubbed his belly. "So violent..."

"Yeah, well, you deserve it!"

"But doesn't the fact that I'm voluntarily in your presence count in my favor? I mean, I can honestly say I've never sought out Gai unless I needed to speak to him about an urgent matter..."

"Nope. You're still a jerk."

"But I'm a friendly jerk, right?"

Anko could see his playful smile even through his mask. She suddenly remembered that he had been the one to bring her back to the Hidden Leaf Village, and he had stopped to visit her at the hospital quite a few times while she recovered. He had even gone to her apartment the day before to see how she was feeling. Kakashi Hatake was certainly a mystery, but she couldn't deny that he was a really nice guy.

She laughed. "Sure. I guess that's fair."

When the two reached the hardware store, they were glad to hear that the last of the two-by-fours had come in. They placed another order and helped Hanzu and Tenzu load up the wagons again, then they accompanied the two loads back in the direction of the job site. On their way back, Anko decided to stop an order a sandwich. Figuring she should be nice, she ordered one for Kakashi as well. When she caught up to he and the caravan again, she offered one of the sandwiches to him.

"Hm? Oh, thanks, but...I'm not hungry right now."

"You're not going to eat anything?" she asked, blinking at him.

"I had a big breakfast this morning," he told her easily.

Anko narrowed her eyes. "Pft, you just don't want anyone to see what's under that mask of yours."

Kakashi didn't reply.

"Fine, starve yourself. More for me then." She grinned as she unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite.

The rest of the day passed much the same as the morning had. Anko didn't have to make any more trips for supplies, but she was content to help with small things around the work site anyway. Another two days worth of work was ahead of them, and she was grateful to fill her time up with it.

"Alright men, good job today," began the master carpenter once he'd gathered all the workers together as the sun went down. "Get a good night's rest and I'll expect you all back here bright an early tomorrow."

They all nodded, and the men said their goodbyes before heading home. "Guess we'd better go, too, huh?"

Anko looked away from the dissipating crowd and found Kakashi standing behind her. "Guess so."

He stepped toward her, looking her over. "You still feeling alright?"

"I'm fine!" she said quickly, jerking her head to the side.

He noticed her tired appearance and the abnormal slouch in her stance. Her face was slightly flushed. He held out what was left of his water to her. "Here."

She looked at the object in his hand for a moment before she took it with a small thanks.

"How about I walk you home. It's on my way."

She smiled and walked passed him. "How chivalrous. But I think I can manage. I'll admit, I'm pretty beat, but I'm nowhere near ready to collapse."

Kakashi followed her, hands in his pockets. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll walk with you anyway. I don't really feel like taking the long way back to my apartment."

"And if I did mind?"

"Then I guess _you_ would be the one taking the long way home."

Neither one spoke for awhile as they headed toward the west end of town. Kakashi was content with the silence as Anko periodically took a sip of the water he'd given her. Eventually, though, he couldn't stop himself from repeating his earlier concerns.

"Are you sure you're up for all of this again tomorrow?" he asked, turning his head to the left so he could see her with his visible eye.

"Ugh, what is it with you anyway? I don't look _that _bad, do I?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder and they both stopped. "I'm just worried about you. You do seem more exhausted than you probably should be. Perhaps you overdid it today."

She grabbed his wrist and pushed it from her shoulder. "Ok, I see your point. I'll limit myself more tomorrow. Will that make you happy?"

He appraised her for a moment before nodding. The two resumed walking.

"By the way..." she mused. "I never took you for a handy man. You're pretty good at it."

He shrugged. "I've been put on enough of these jobs to know what I'm doing. I mean, we've had to rebuild the village numerous times over the past few years alone. It's always one thing after another it seems."

"Yeah, I guess that's true. This is my first time on a reconstruction unit."

"Right. You're usually on other types of jobs like reconnaissance and retrieval operations. Not to mention your unique place among the ANBU, even though you aren't a member."

"Speaking of which, I took your advice yesterday."

"Oh? What advice was that?"

"I went to visit Ibiki."

"Really now? And how did that go?"

"Oh, you know. Had to put a few of those ANBU in their place before I could even see him. He told me he'd let me know when they had a job for me."

Kakashi chuckled. "Put them in their place, huh? Only you would have the guts to challenge them like that _and _get away with it."

"Ibiki didn't really mind. He didn't bite my head off about it anyway. Gotta say, I missed old Scarface."

"Hm? Scareface? Does Ibiki know you call him that?"

"Nope," she laughed. "And that's the way it's going to stay."

"You also said you ran into Naruto last night as well, didn't you?"

"Actually, I saw all your former students." She looked down at her feet as she walked. "I knew the Uchiha kid was back in the village, but it still caught me off guard to see him. And so laid back, too. I couldn't believe it."

"Yeah..." Kakashi faced forward. "To be honest, I had given up hope a long time ago that Sasuke would ever return to the Hidden Leaf. I thought for sure we'd have to take extreme measures against him, especially since Orochimaru had gained such an enormous hold on the boy. Even after he managed to kill Orochimaru, it seemed that the last thing on his agenda was returning home. But, in the end, he surprised us all."

Kakashi glanced at Anko when a few moments passed with no reply. He saw that she was squeezing the now empty water bottle lightly, her eyes still downcast. His eyes softened.

"Er, sorry. I didn't mean...I know that's probably a touchy subject for you—"

"No," she said quietly. He saw a small smile touch her lips. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's over. Even my curse mark is gone. Orochimaru's shadow will never bring me those nightmares again. I'm just glad Sasuke was able to be freed from that darkness as well."

"Hm. Me too."

They stopped when they reached her apartment building.

"Well, here we are," said Kakashi. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep. And don't worry, I'll get a good night's rest and be ready to go."

"I'll hold you to that. Night."

Kakashi waited until the door had shut behind Anko before continuing on down the street toward his own apartment. He really did hope she was well-rested for another day of work. If not, he would have to inform the Hokage.

He needn't have worried, however. The next two days passed much the same as the first, and though Anko tired herself out by the end of each day, she wasn't really any worse for wear. To be on the safe side, she minimized the amount of lifting she partook in and was sure to drink lots of water. By the time the job was done, she felt accomplished.

As with the previous evenings, she and Kakashi headed home together, reflecting on all the work that had been done. He offered to treat her to dinner, but she declined, saying all she wanted was to go home and go to bed. He agreed.

The next day, Anko was required to head back to the hospital for another checkup. Tsunade personally took care of the examination since she had been seeing emergency room patients anyway. As Anko sat on the examination table, Tsunade took her blood pressure, checked her pulse and her breathing and looked for any signs of soreness. Noting a slight laziness to her eyes, Tsunade checked her pupils.

"Well, your blood pressure is slightly higher than usual and you look fatigued, but I suppose that's normal considering you've been working long days on that construction job."

"Yeah. Still need to catch up on my sleep I guess. Admittedly my muscles are a little sore, but that's probably to be expected, too."

Tsunade nodded. "All in all, you don't look too bad. Honestly, I was expecting worse, knowing your eccentricities."

"So how's it lookin' for my missions?"

The Hokage tapped the pen to her chin as she sat on her stool beside the desk. "Hm...You'll have to come back here in a few days. We'll check your progress, and if Shizune or I see fit, I'll find something for you to do. But I'd advise you take this time to relax. Rebuilding muscle mass and strength takes awhile, and you don't want to rush the process. Otherwise you'll find yourself moving in the opposite direction of recovery."

"Understood."

Anko pulled her coat back on as Tsunade left the room. Then she headed out herself. As she walked through the hallways of the hospital, she debated whether or not she wanted to go home and lay down. She knew she probably should, but the thought of returning to her empty apartment seemed unappealing. She sighed as she walked past the main desk and out the front door.

"Yo."

Anko stopped and looked to her left to see the Copy Ninja leaning against a pillar beside the door. Her confused expression turned to one of suspicion as she placed one hand on her hip and scowled.

"Seriously, are you following me or something?"

He chuckled. "No. Actually, I was waiting on Sakura. We were given a mission this morning and we'll leave as soon as she gets done with her shift at the hospital. Which should be anytime now."

The snake kunoichi crossed her arms, looking agitated.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry," said Kakashi with an eye-crinkle. "I didn't mean to—"

"Doesn't matter," she huffed. "I'll get another mission in a few days."

Kakashi looked back at her for a moment. "You know...most people don't mind taking a little time off to rest up."

"Well most people didn't get knocked out in a fight and lay in a coma for two months," she bristled.

The Copy Ninja read her expression perfectly. He'd seen the same reaction in Naruto when the boy hadn't been able to live up to his own expectations. Suddenly understanding why she couldn't stand to simply sit still and recover, his gaze softened.

"Hey...It's alright you know."

"What are you talkin' about?"

"You're mad at yourself aren't you? For not being able to defeat Kabuto."

She looked away from him. "I couldn't defeat him _or_ Orochimaru. You know, it really sucks when everyone else played a part in ending this war while I did nothing."

"I'm sure a lot of people feel that way, but it's not true. Your work off the battlefield was just as important—"

"Just forget it." She sighed.

Kakashi watched her as she glanced around the village. Her face was impassive. It showed neither anger or annoyance or self-pity. She seemed rather standoffish in his opinion. He looked forward and closed his eyes, knowing he couldn't say anything to make her feel better about herself at the moment.

"Heeeey! Kakashi-Sensei!"

He and Anko looked up to see Naruto and Sasuke heading their way. Anko smiled upon seeing them.

"Your old team, huh?"

"Yep," said Kakashi simply as they approached.

"Kakashi," said Sasuke with a nod. He looked to Anko but gave her no greeting. She didn't take offense.

"Good," said Kakashi. "You're here. The only person left is—"

"I'm coming!" The group turned to see Sakura burst through the doors. She stopped between Anko and her former teacher.

"Hey, Anko-Sensei," she said happily.

"Hi, Sakura."

The medical ninja frowned. "You...you're not going with us, are you?" she asked with concern. Naruto gave an undignified screech of protest. "You're still—"

Anko laughed. "No, I'm not. I was just leaving."

Naruto gave a sigh of relief. Anko didn't miss it. She walked over to him and rubbed his scruffy head which made him cringe. "Aw, don't act like you won't miss me!"

The son of the Fourth flailed and escaped her pestering. "Argh! Why the heck would I miss you? You can scare the living daylights out of anybody!"

Anko only laughed again as she left the group. "Have fun on your mission!" she called from over her shoulder.

Naruto ran his hands through his hair and grumbled, "Glad she's not going on this mission..."

Kakashi stood away from the pillar he'd been leaning on and looked at the three chunin, ignoring the scene that had just played out. "Alright, is everyone ready?"

His former students answered in the affirmative. He glanced at each one in turn. When his visible eye settled on Sasuke, it narrowed. For the longest time, he'd been training with Sakura, Sai and Naruto. When Sasuke had returned to the Hidden Leaf Village, he had resumed training with his former team as well. However, up until now, Kakashi hadn't been sent on a mission with his original team, mostly because Sasuke had been on close surveillance and hadn't been allowed to leave the village until it was certain that he'd reformed for good.

Kakashi had been watching the boy like a hawk, unsure of whether or not to trust the Uchiha again, but after a while, it had become clear to the Copy Ninja that his former protégé had made peace with himself and had no plans of turning his back on his home or his friends again. In fact, Sasuke and Naruto were better friends than they had ever been, and the Uchiha actually paid attention to Sakura's feelings—though he hadn't returned her love much to the kunoichi's dismay (though the fact that he hadn't returned Ino's feelings either helped to soften that blow). Sasuke had even formed a tolerance for Sai. And so Kakashi supposed that this mission was well-deserved.

* * *

Anko still had not decided what she wanted to do. She was weighing three options in her head; a nap, a meal or target practice, none of which would be even remotely strenuous (unless of course she ate too many dangos and found herself with a tummy ache). She was just passing the barbeque restaurant when she happened upon two familiar, green spandex-clad ninjas who were walking on their hands down the street as if the activity was normal.

"If it isn't the lovely Anko!" came Gai's booming voice as she came up beside them. They all stopped for a quick chat.

Lee smiled up at her. "Hello, Anko-Sensei! It's a fine day for a workout, is it not?"

One of Anko's thin brows rose up nearly to her hairline. "The hell are you doing, Gai?"

"Ah-haha! Just basking in the glory of our youth! Right Lee?"

"That is right, Gai-Sensei!"

"Let me guess; you're doing a ridiculous number of laps around the village on your hands."

"Five-hundred to be exact," said Lee.

"Geesh, and they call me eccentric," Anko muttered."

"You should definitely join us, Anko!" said Gai, flashing his signature, sparkling smile and giving her a thumbs up.

The suggestion actually horrified her. She threw her hands up and waved the offer away with a fake smile of her own. "No thanks. I'm pretty sure that would violate orders to not overdo it. Still recovering after all!"

"Nonsense! Nothing heals one faster than the power of youth!"

Anko gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head. "Eh-heh-heh, maybe some other time…"

"Alright then, it's your loss. C'mon, Lee! Let's go! I'll race ya to the Monument and back!"

"Yes, Gai-Sensei! You are on!"

Anko stared after them as they ran off on their hands at an impossible speed toward the Hokages' Monument. She sighed and shook her head. "I swear, their spandex is too tight…"

"You're not kidding."

"Oh, hey Ino."

"Hey, Anko-Sensei. Me, Chouji and Shikamaru are meeting up for a bite. You wanna join us?"

At that moment, Chouji ran past her into the restaurant. "BARBAQUE TIME! OOOOOH YEAAAAAAH!"

Anko laughed. "Only if you're buyin'!"

"Man, are you serious?" said Shikamaru as he ambled up to the two women. "I'm the one that got stuck paying this time."

"Hey, Shikamaru! What's up?"

"Ah, not too much. Ino told us you were back on your feet again."

"Hey, are you guys comin' or what?" Chouji shouted. "I'm starving!"

"Would you hold your horses, Chouji!" yelled Ino. "Sheesh, we're trying to have a conversation here!"

"You can talk inside! Let's go!"

"Ugh! Boys are so aggravating!"

"Well, you heard the man," said Anko. "Shall we?"

The four were seated at a booth within minutes and their orders were being prepared right before their eyes. Chouji was the first to swipe most of the meat and the chef had to cook up some more for the other three at the table. They had to grab their desired food quickly before the hungriest member of the group helped himself to seconds, thirds and fourths.

"No doubt about it, you're gonna clean me out, Chouji," said Shikamaru.

"Hey, it was your turn to buy this time," said the Akamichi happily.

"He's got a point," said Ino.

"So, Anko-Sensei," Shikamaru began. "You gonna be up for the Chunin exams or what?"

Anko paused in the process of stabbing a piece of steak. "Oh yeah…that is coming up soon isn't it?"

"Yep. Another month and a half."

"Mm, I'll have to ask my warden. I don't think it'll be a problem since I don't really have to do too much for it."

"Right, the Forest of Death. How could I forget that?" said Ino.

Anko's mischievous smile returned. "I've gotta say, I'm surprised you all made it through the forest. I thought for sure one of you rookies would leave your blood all over it."

"C'mon, you can't be serious?" said Shikamaru. "You really expected us to fail?"

"That's a little harsh," said Ino.

Anko simply shrugged. "It wasn't an impossibility. Some pretty good teams were eliminated by death you know."

Ino shuddered. "Can we not talk about death while we're eating?"

Chouji nodded vigorously. "Yeah, you're ruining the food!"

The snake kunoichi made a point to swipe a rare steak from the grill and tear a piece off with her teeth. The others watched wide-eyed as she ate it easily. When she swallowed, she looked around at all of them before grinning at Chouji. "What are ya talkin' about? A little blood makes it even tastier!"


	4. Chapter 4: The Chunin Exams

**A/N:** Just gonna remind you all that I have no plan for this. xD I mean, I kinda do, but most of this is just whatever comes to mind. Also, since I don't have much of a plan, I'm probably going to take this a little faster than I would like. I prefer a more realistic pace to romance stories, so it will still be sort of slow, but I will more than likely not drag it out too awfully long.

So please read and review! It keeps me going! Especially since this isn't a very popular category anyway.

_Chapter Four: The Chunin Exams  
_

"Izumo, since when are we information gatherers? Isn't this Shizune's job; to search through all these files?"

"Stop your whining, Kotetsu! Shizune's not here, so the responsibility falls to us."

"I know, but this is taking forever… The Land of Turtles is so small and so far out there, are we even sure we _have_ any information on it?"

"If we do, we'll find it. So shut up and keep looking."

Kotetsu sighed as he pulled out another drawer and removed one of the files within. He flipped through its pages, scanning the content of each one carefully, but there was no documentation of the Land of Turtles in that one either. He set it aside and grabbed another folder. Izumo did the same. Two hours later and still they had no luck.

"I give up!" said Kotetsu, flopping into a chair. "This is impossible!"

"What? We can't give up! Lady Tsunade entrusted us to dig up our intel on this! Now is not the time to shirk your responsibilities!"

Anko was passing through the halls of the Hokage's mansion when she heard the two familiar voices behind one of the doors to her right. She stopped just outside the room and listened.

"Izumo, we've gone through almost this whole room already, and we haven't found anything. Can't we at least take a break or something?"

"No! Not until we complete our task!"

"But I'm hungry!"

"We can eat later!"

"We can find these so-called documents later!"

When the door to the record room opened, the two men paused in their arguing, both hurrying to grab up a file so that if the Hokage had come to check on them, she wouldn't throw them through a wall for not carrying out the task they had been given. They both smiled in relief, however, when they saw that it wasn't Lady Tsunade after at all. They set the folders down as she walked into the room.

"Anko!"

"Kotetsu. Izumo." She returned their smiles before casting a glance around at all the scattered files and opened cabinets. "Looks like you've been busy. What's all this for?"

"Team Kakashi returned from a mission way on the other side of the Land of Waves where they encountered pretty skilled ninja from the Land of Turtles."

"The Land of…?" Anko narrowed her eyes. "I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"I _know_ I haven't heard of it," said Kotetsu. "We've been trying to find information on it, but so far, nothing. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's a newly developed country that was formed after the war."

"Regardless," said Izumo. "If it did previously exist, there must be some records on it. In which case, we won't stop searching until we find it."

Anko laughed a little at Kotetsu's rather loud groan of protest. "Sounds like a big pain. Isn't that Shizune's—"

"Shizune's job, yeah," said the spiky-haired slacker.

"She was sent out as a missionary to aid the wounded in the Land of Rice Patties along with Sakura and Ino. They left as soon as Team Kakashi returned."

"I see…"

"So, I assume you need something, Anko?" Izumo asked.

Her smile vanished, replaced by a scowl. She placed her hands on her hips. "Oh c'mon, why does everybody assume I want something?"

Tsunade's errand boys glanced at each other, then looked back at her. "Because you usually do."

"For your information, I was on my way out of here after debriefing Lady Tsunade on a mission. I happened to overhear you two bickering and thought I'd come break up your petty little squabble! Glad to know my efforts are appreciated!"

The best friends laughed and placed their arms around Anko's shoulders, their combined weight causing her neck to bend forward uncomfortably. "C'mon, Anko! We're just messin' with ya! You know you're our girl!"

Her face was twisted into a forced smile, and when she spoke, it was through gritted teeth. "Do you want me to break your arms?"

Their eyes widened and they stepped away from her, scratching the backs of their heads with grins on their faces.

"Ah, you know you wouldn't do that," said Kotetsu. "You love us too much!"

Anko rubbed the back of her neck. "I'd love ya more if you weren't so annoying."

"Hey, uh, Izumo?" said Kotetsu.

"Yeah?"

"Who's more annoying? Me or Anko?"

Izumo laughed. "I don't know! That's a tossup! But I'd have to say Anko."

"No kidding! Ya hear that? Izumo's the expert here!"

Anko grabbed them both by the ears and they yelped in pain, begging her to let go.

"Listen you two! I'm not above rearranging your faces! I don't care how much I like you or whether you're the Hokage's lackies!"

"Ow, ow, ow! Alright, alright, alright! We're sorry! Ow, that hurts! Let go!"

She released them and dusted off her hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got places to go and people to bother. You two have a job to do anyway, so I'll leave you to it." She turned toward the door, leaving Izumo and Kotetsu to rub their now very sore ears.

* * *

Kakashi glanced at his clock and sighed. It seemed he'd only gotten a few hours of sleep. He closed his eyes again, attempting to get some more rest, but when his thoughts ran across his mind like a myriad of rabbits, all vying for his attention, he gave up.

He sat up and stretched, debating whether or not to eat something. He wasn't really all that hungry, but considering his last meal had been a number of hours ago, he thought he should.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his apartment door. He turned his head to the right curiously. "I wonder who that could be. I hope it's not another summons to see the Hokage. I would like a bit of a break before being assigned another mission…"

Ambling out of his room, he made his way to door. When another persistent knock came, he slumped his shoulders. "I'm coming, I'm coming…"

Assuming it was another Jonin coming to inform him of a new assignment, he opened the door only to be taken aback by who was on the other side.

"Well, this is unusual," he mused.

"Figured I owed you one for dropping in on me," said Anko before she pushed passed him into the apartment.

Kakashi donned a disappointed expression beneath his mask. "Please, by all means, come in," he said sarcastically as he closed the door.

"What, you're not happy to see me?"

"It's nothing personal, but I was hoping to catch up on my rest."

"We're friends aren't we?" she grinned. "You came to see how I was doing, and now I'm returning the favor." She dropped down onto his couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table.

"Anko, when I said we were friends, I didn't give you license to take over my apartment."

"Oh relax. I just came to see how your first mission with your old team went."

"As well as can be expected. It was a success at any rate."

Anko looked at him more seriously. "And Uchiha?"

There was a moment of silence as Kakashi deciphered her reasons for asking. "He did well. I expected nothing less." Anko glanced down at her lap in thought. Kakashi noticed her mind wandering. "I can understand your interest in the matter, but I can assure you, he has no intention of reverting back to the darkness that once clouded his heart."

"Glad to hear it. And Naruto? I assume he rushed in headfirst as always."

Kakashi chuckled. "That he did—quite a few times actually. But he made up for it in the end, just like he always does."

"Heh, idiot…"

Kakashi studied her for a few moments, waiting to see if she would say anything else. When she didn't, he said, "Well, if that's all you came for…"

"What, you're not gonna kick me out are ya?" She flopped over onto her back across the sofa, making herself right at home. "Man, your couch is even more comfortable than mine!"

He sighed and turned to head back to his room. Anko sat up and watched him. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Back to bed."

She got up and followed him, stopping to place her hands on either side of the doorway to his room to see him sprawled out on his bed. "That's a little rude when you have a guest in your house, don't ya think?"

"Like you're one to be lecturing me about manners."

She crossed her arms. "I tell ya, no gratitude at all. I come to see how your mission went, and this is the thanks I get."

He cracked open one eye and spoke conversationally. "I told you how the mission went. And to be fair, I didn't invite you in in the first place." He closed his eye again. "But I guess since you took the liberty of inviting _yourself_ in, you can make yourself at home. Meanwhile, I think I'll just lay here and try to go back to sleep…"

A long moment of silence passed between them—a span in which Kakashi could feel Anko's eyes on him, but he didn't bother to acknowledge her presence anymore. When he noted that quite a few seconds had gone by,, he felt her come nearer, but still he didn't pay too much attention.

At least until his mattress was lifted and he was tossed out of bed and onto the floor with a yelp of surprise. He heard the mattress hit the frame again, and he rolled over and sat up to glare at her.

"What was that for?"

"For being a smartass _and_ for deciding to ignore the fact that I'm still here."

"Well if you weren't so pushy and invasive all the time…" he muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked, walking around to the other side of the bed where Kakashi still sat on the floor.

"I know you heard me."

She took a swing at him, but he disappeared into a puff of smoke only to reappear behind her, grabbing the collar of her trench coat to keep her from pitching forward and falling flat on her face.

"You know, I think your temper is worse than Sakura's," he said, somewhat amused, but still sort of agitated by being unceremoniously dumped onto the floor.

She stepped out of his grasp and fixed him with an agitated expression of her own. Then it turned thoughtful. "I would agree with Gai. You're always so cool, it's annoying." She walked passed him toward the bedroom door. "You should try losing it one of these days."

"Yeah, well, I'm not the hot-blooded type."

"Then that's no fun at all." As she left his apartment, she thought it would be exceedingly entertaining if someone could find a way to make the cool, calm and collected Copy Ninja hot under the collar. A grin spread across her face and she licked her lips, imagining such a scenario.

On her way back through the village, she kept thinking of ways to push his buttons. Gai hated Kakashi's cool demeanor, but never did anything to break it. Anko thought it would be much more enjoyable to do more than complain about it. If she could make him crack, then she'd be legendary!

However, it would take a lot of work, and though Anko's work ethic was strong, she wasn't sure if she'd have the time necessary to facilitate such an arduous endeavor. Because trying to crack the Copy Ninja's calm façade would certainly be no easy task. Not to mention the fact that he had a habit of simply vanishing.

"Anko."

She looked up at the voice. "Kurenai. And I see you've got your boy with ya."

"Yes. I don't think you've ever met Kenta." The young mother looked to her child lovingly. A little over a year old, Kenta had the same dark hair as both of his parents, though it was straight like his father's instead of wavy like his mother's. He also bore the unmistakable red eyes of the Yuhi clan.

"No, I haven't." Anko studied the child for a moment, then smiled. "I guess he's kinda cute."

"Would you like to hold him?" Kurenai asked brightly.

Anko blinked, taken aback. "Er, well actually, I—"

"Here." Before the special Jonin could protest, the child was placed in her arms and she hurried to hold him properly on her hip. Anko could only stare at the small child. She had no experience with toddlers. In fact, they made her sort of uneasy. She supposed that she simply lacked maternal instincts.

Actually, the thought of having her own children made her cringe.

But little Kenta was quiet, not fussy. He also refrained from flailing and squirming, opting to rest comfortably against Anko as his big, scarlet eyes peered at the unfamiliar face. His fist was to his mouth, and it looked like he was studying her features. When he reached for her hair, Anko pulled her head away, knowing curious baby fingers liked to pull on things, however his attention was caught a moment later by her necklace.

He reached for the charm with the tiny snake fang and brought it closer to his face to examine it. Anko watched Kenta's curiosity about the object shimmer in his eyes, unsure of what to say to the child. When he pulled the necklace toward his mouth, though, Anko had to put a stop to his examination.

"Oh no, no, no!" She smiled as she took the necklace from his hand. "That's not a chew toy."

Kurenai chuckled as Anko put the boy on the ground. She took her son's hand, both women noting that he seemed reluctant to leave Anko's side. He returned to his mother a few moments later, however, and held onto her leg for support.

"How old is he now?"

"Sixteen months."

"He seems pretty quiet," Anko observed.

"He knows a few words, but getting him to talk is a bit difficult sometimes. I suppose he takes after Asuma that way."

Kurenai looked down at the boy when he tugged on her skirt.

"Daddy?"

The Sarutobi widow smiled affectionately at him before she picked him up again. "That's right. We're going to visit Daddy today."

Anko was slightly taken aback by this. "Isn't he a little young for…?"

Knowing what the other woman was getting at—having been questioned about her decision many times already—, Kurenai closed her eyes with a light sigh. "Yes, I suppose most people think so. But I don't want Kenta growing up not knowing who his father was. I make it a point to take him to visit Asuma at least once a week, and I tell him stories about the last of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve. That way, he'll never have to wonder. He'll always know."

"I guess you know best," said Anko.

"Daddy."

Kurenai smiled at her son's impatience. "Alright, alright." She looked to Anko. "He's learned to associate 'Daddy' with 'story time.'"

"Well, you'd better not keep the kid waiting."

"Right. See you around, Anko."

The special Jonin watched them leave, thinking how incredibly brave Kurenai seemed. Though perhaps it wasn't bravery. Maybe it was simply her love for both Asuma and their baby that kept her going each day.

A love Anko had never known.

She shook the thought from her mind. It had been quite a while since she'd had any thoughts of her parents at all. Anko had learned long ago that dwelling on the fact that she had been abandoned by her mother and father would get her nowhere. She had done well for herself, despite everything she'd been through, and she had done it all on her own.

But still… Anko could not recall every being loved by anyone. When she had been assigned to study under Orochimaru, she had been fooled into thinking he could become her father figure, but when he had betrayed her, those hopes had been dashed. Now she had friends, sure. Izumo and Kotetsu. Genma, Kurenai, Ino—and Kakashi on some level. As far as love went, though…

"Tch." She scoffed at her own foolishness and resumed walking. "Like that matters. I'm better off alone anyway."

* * *

Emotional dilemmas aside, Anko did not see much of Kakashi over the next few weeks, and so she was not able to even attempt to try his patience. Instead, he was sent on another mission and by the time he returned, Anko had immersed herself in planning for the Chunin exams. She had come up with a new Forest of Death challenge (they changed these each time to ensure that those who had to retake the exams wouldn't have a leg-up on the competition), and she was rather excited to see how it played out this time. With any luck, the bloodshed would be substantial—though she wished death on no one of course.

A week before the exams, the Jonin met with the Hokage for the usual team recommendation. Anko, being early as usual, arrived much sooner than many of her peers, however she found she had not beaten Ibiki to the meeting. Seeing him standing aloof in a far corner of the room, she made her way over to him.

"I hear you're doing the Chunin exams this time."

"That's right, I am," he replied, keeping his arms crossed as he leaned back against the wall.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it? The last one you proctored, Orochimaru crashed the party."

"Obviously after that, I had more important matters to take care of."

"True enough. I hope you do a better job than last time. If I remember correctly, you let twenty-six teams pass, and I had to pick up the slack."

"Huh." Ibiki closed his eyes with a smirk. "Don't you worry, Mitarashi. I've got a plan that'll have these rookies dropping out like flies."

"I'll hold you to that."

At that point, the rest of the Jonin had filed into the room and Lady Tsunade called the assembly to attention. Each of the Jonin in charge of a squad of Genin were called upon to either recommend or withhold their squads for the exams. Anko and Ibiki listened attentively while twenty-four teams were recommended. Once the meeting was adjourned, Izumo and Kotetsu approached them.

"Hey you two," greeted Anko.

"Hey," said Kotetsu.

"You guys ready for this?"

"Sure are," said Izumo.

"Yeah, it's always fun to watch the noobies squirm."

Ibiki laughed along with Anko, both agreeing wholeheartedly with Kotetsu.

"You know, you all are really a cruel bunch." The four of them turned to the Hokage when she approached with a smile. "Hoping for them to fail isn't very nice."

"If they can't think at the same level we can, then they don't deserve to become Chunin," said Ibiki. "We're raising Shinobi here."

"Yeah, what he said," said Kotetsu. Izumo nodded.

Tsunade laughed. "You're right." She looked to Anko. "You sure you're up for this? I can always find a fill-in—"

"Shizune cleared me! I'm not backing out now!"

Tsunade looked a bit concerned, but refrained from further commentary on the subject. "Well then, the Chunin exam begins a week from today. Ibiki, Anko, I trust you to finalize your test criteria and have them to me within the next day or two. Genma could not be present at this meeting, but he is still the proctor for the last phase of the exam. Izumo, Kotetsu, I place you two, as well as Shikamaru and Temari under the orders of Ibiki and Anko. Anything they say, goes."

"Yes ma'am," they said in unison.

* * *

Ibiki had kept his promise of making the first exam more difficult. Only eighteen teams moved on to the second round. Anko had sent them into the Forest of Death about fifteen minutes ago, and now she lay on her back on top of the small shelter, the bottom of her trench coat pulled up to form a pillow and one leg crossed over the other as she chewed on a dango stick.

Screams sounded from somewhere in the forest and Anko grinned. "And so it's begun."

"It's a bit morbid, don't ya think? To take pleasure from others' pain?"

Anko looked down to the ground to find the Copy Ninja. "What are you doing way out here? Isn't this out of your way?"

"Eh, kinda…"

She scowled. "Kinda? What kind of answer is that? Either it is, or it isn't. So which is it?"

"Alright, it is."

"So what brings you out here then?"

"Just stopping by. But if you don't want my company…"

Anko sat up and swung her legs off the edge of the roof. She smiled down at Kakashi. "Aw, you were thinkin' of me and decided to make sure I wasn't lonely? That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard!"

"Whoa now, I didn't say all that."

"You didn't have to," she said happily.

Kakashi looked up at the sky with a sigh. "Why did I come here again…?" he muttered. He closed his eyes as he took in a slow breath before he leapt up onto the roof and sat down cross-legged beside her. As soon as he was comfortable, he reached back into his hip pouch to remove his copy of "Icha Icha Violence" and flipped it open.

Anko watched him, her expression turning from humorous to agitated. "Are you kidding me? You came here just to read?"

"No. I'm perfectly capable of carrying on a legitimate conversation while reading. I do it all the time."

"Pftuh, and here I thought I'd get the privilege of having all your attention," she said, turning her head in the opposite direction.

"Seems someone's rather self-centered."

She punched his arm before moving behind Kakashi to lean back against him.

"Always so violent…" he mused again, thinking it odd that someone with personal space issues had decided to invade his own private bubble.

"Well maybe if you were a little nicer…"

He shifted his right eye to look over his shoulder at her. "Hey now, I'm a pretty nice guy if I do say so myself."

"Oh, so it's just me you're mean to?" she asked as she fiddled with the dango stick she'd been chewing on earlier.

He looked back to his book. "No."

"That's right. I'm in the same category as Gai. Joy."

Kakashi chuckled. "Considering how you treated me in my own apartment I'd say I'd have to definitely rethink my earlier statement about you being slightly better company."

Her eyes were closed and her brows twitched irritably. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Nope. I just make honesty a policy."

"Heh…shut up, Hatake."

"Is that your favorite command to give me?"

"Yeah, because you get on my nerves."

"How so?"

"I told you last time, you need to lose your cool one of these days."

"And what would that accomplish exactly?"

"You might not irritate me as badly as you do now."

"Then I guess I'd better get used to your irritation, huh?" he said, looking over his shoulder again with his usual eye-crinkle.

Anko looked back at him skeptically, but remained silent. She still couldn't figure out why he had ventured all the way to the forty-fourth training ground in the first place. Was it really just to see her? That didn't sound very plausible to Anko. Sure, she and Kakashi had become a bit friendlier over the past few months, and he'd gone to check up on her while she recovered, but what reason could he have for being there now? It just didn't seem natural.

"So…" she began in a more serious tone. "Why are you _really_ here?"

"Hm?" He opened his eye and met her gaze.

"C'mon, spill it. Why did you decide to walk all the way out here?"

Kakashi understood her question. He didn't exactly have an answer, though. The last time he had spoken to Anko at length had been that day at his apartment. He had been much too busy after that encounter and so had Anko, and for some inexplicable reason, he found his thoughts drifting in her direction when he had a few moments to himself. Those thoughts weren't particularly complex. For the most part, he simply thought of her in passing, wondering what she was up to and if she was still feeling alright. Perhaps he had sought her out in order to quell his subconscious curiosity and to make sure she really was okay.

He voiced none of this, of course, but simply shrugged his shoulders before returning his eye to the pages of the novel in his hands.

"I had nothing better to do."

"I find that hard to believe…"

"The reconstruction is over. Missions are fewer in this time of peace. My team is thankfully otherwise engaged."

Anko stared off past the fence into the forest, still trying to riddle out Kakashi's peculiar behavior. "So instead of finding a solitary place to read like you usually do, you decided to find me," she said quietly, almost to herself.

"I knew you'd be here for the next few days. I'd like to think you wouldn't mind having someone to talk to."

She looked down at her lap as a strange emotion took hold of her. She wasn't used to others seeking her out solely to keep her company. If she saw Kurenai or Ino or Izumo and Kotetsu, they would walk or talk with her, and sometimes they made plans to eat together or to go out for an evening at the bar. Lately, however, Kakashi had slowly been tilting her off balance with his purposeful visits. It was more than just an oddity—it was becoming a pattern—and Anko wasn't sure how she felt about it.

Letting her chin fall to her collar bone, she allowed the strange silence to stretch on between them, Kakashi seemingly unfazed as he continued to read his book. She was so lost to her confusion that she failed to notice more screams coming from the forest in front of her.

For the next four days, Kakashi returned to the training ground, book in hand, clearly committed to his endeavor to keep Anko from the brink of boredom. He didn't stay all day; only for a few hours, but each time he showed up, Anko was thrown further and further off kilter by his persistence. Whenever she attempted to question the Copy Ninja, however, he merely repeated his original arguments which conveyed only mild concern. Anko knew it had to be something more than that. But what, she had no idea.

* * *

The second phase of the Chunin exams ended with a total of six teams advancing to the final stage. Preliminaries were held and nine individuals were made the final cut. One month lay ahead of them—a month that would require intense training and discipline. The Genin left the tower, all of them pumped up and ready to train as hard as they could in order to pass the exams and move up in rank to become Chunin.

The space between the second and third exams gave Anko, as well as the other proctors, a chance to relax and recuperate. Even though she'd had Kakashi's company while keeping vigil over the Forest of Death challenge and Izumo and Kotetsu had helped keep watch while she rested, the task still took a lot out of her, and so the first thing she did once she'd been dismissed was return to her apartment to sleep for several hours. She even passed up eating until after she'd caught up on her rest.

Once she had recovered from her weariness, though, she found that her curiosity over Kakashi's strange behavior had returned. As she washed the dishes that had been piling up in her sink for quite some time, she contemplated their odd friendship of sorts. Could she really call it friendship? Were they friendly enough to be considered that? He _had_ said they were friends… But they hadn't been until recently. It seemed to have started after she'd woken from her coma.

She glared down at the plate in her hand as she scrubbed away the dried food. Was it merely pity? Did Kakashi simply feel sorry for her? But why should he? There was nothing wrong with her. She had woken from her fateful slumber and now she was almost back to perfect health.

'_So then why…?'_

Anko rinsed off the now clean plate and put it in the strainer before grabbing a bowl to wash as her confusion was replaced by an emotion that she was slowly becoming familiar with, though she had yet to identify it. She couldn't tell whether it was a negative emotion or a positive one, but one thought always seemed to accompany it.

'_I have to admit, I kinda like bein' around him. At least until he irritates me that is…'_

After finishing the dishes, she wiped off the counter top before throwing the washcloth in with the dirty laundry (a chore she didn't feel like tackling at the moment). Then she sat down on the couch and picked up the paper she'd brought home on her way back from the training field. She lost interest in it quickly, refolding it and putting it back on the coffee table. Her thoughts returned again to the silver-haired Jonin…

She growled in frustration, pushing the table away with her feet.

"What the hell is wrong with me? Who cares if he decided to be nicer to me? I have more important things to think about."

Anko stood then and decided that maybe she would start her laundry. It wasn't like she had anything else to do. In order to keep her mind occupied with other things, she even dusted her apartment, and that was something she hardly ever took the time to do. She wasn't the messiest person ever, but she wasn't the neatest either, but by mid-afternoon, her apartment was spotless. Still, those invasive thoughts of the Copy Ninja kept returning.

Finally deciding she had to get some answers from Kakashi, even if that meant strangling him to get him to talk, Anko set out to locate the elusive son of the White Fang. Unfortunately, she couldn't find him anywhere. He wasn't at the training fields, the Hokage's mansion-she even checked his apartment, but there was no sign of him. Shrugging it off, she knew he'd turn up eventually, and when he did, he would have some explaining to do. Whatever he was doing was screwing with Anko's head, and it made her uncomfortable.

Over the next few weeks, however, she saw neither hide nor hair of Kakashi Hatake. She figured after the first few days that he had probably been sent on another mission. She'd talked to Sakura who told her as much, but the younger kunoichi hadn't elaborated on exactly what kind of mission he'd been sent on.

If she thought her initial unanswered questions made her uncomfortable, she was about to find out that Kakashi's absence would only unsettle her even more. As the days went on, that familiar feeling only strengthened, and it felt a little painful. As she walked back through town on her way home from running a few errands, she scoffed at the thought that she actually missed the infuriatingly cool-tempered ninja. She was forced to admit it, though, as the month drew to a close.

The Chunin exams resumed. Genma proctored the final exam as usual and the Hokage gave an opening address, not just to Konoha, but to all its visitors from different lands and villages. The first match began without further preamble and soon Anko, her feet propped up on the headrest of the empty seat in front of her, was too enthralled by the battle to give thought to much else.

"Yo."

Startled by the voice, Anko actually jumped a little. She whipped her head to the side, seeing Kakashi taking the seat beside her.

"I didn't miss much did I?"

Anko frowned, more at the fact that she was glad to see him than at Kakashi himself. "No, it just started. It's still the first match."

"Good. I'm no later than usual then," he said with an eye-crinkle.

She continued to stare at him, though his eyes were focused down on the field. "Where've you been?"

"Oh, uh…well, you see, I've sort of become a diplomat…Not sure how that happened, but anyway…I was sent to the Hidden Cloud to meet with the Raikage on Lady Tsunade's behalf since she couldn't make the trip due to the exams."

"I see." Anko returned her attention to the battle which looked to be about over. Her focus wasn't on the exam anymore. Instead, her previous questions resurfaced along with new ones. Why did he seek her out upon returning to the village? That was certainly peculiar.

But she couldn't deny that she liked the idea.

Anko bit the inside of her lip to keep from asking him anything right then. She could tell he was interested in watching the rest of the Chunin exams, so she would wait to question him until later. Still, she smiled to herself as she began to settle into the warm feeling of contentment that had washed over her at his return and the fact that he was now sitting beside her.


	5. Chapter 5: Misunderstandings

_Chapter Five: Misunderstandings_

Anko didn't have a chance to talk to Kakashi after the exams. She had to rejoin the other proctors for scoring, and by the time the Chunin selections were over, she'd completely lost track of the Copy Ninja. She had attempted to search throughout the village for him, but no such luck.

Feeling disappointed, Anko headed home for the evening. After eating leftover chicken and rice, she showered and laid down for bed only to find that sleep was impossible when her mind was running itself in circles. Kakashi's lazy eye and silver hair kept flashing across her thoughts. She recalled his playful tone and friendly eye-crinkle which made obvious the fact that he was truly smiling beneath his mask. All the while, she kept wondering—as she had numerous times over the past month—why he was behaving so strangely when she couldn't remember ever even having a simple conversation with the man outside of disagreements before.

Even as she lay beneath her sheets, she couldn't help but wish he hadn't run off before she had a chance to speak with him earlier. When she began to realize that she missed him again, Anko bristled and glared at the wall, her hand fisting in her sheets. Why should she miss Kakashi? They still barely knew each other. She knew her boys better than she knew Kakashi, but she had never felt at a loss when Izumo and Kotetsu weren't around. She was usually just as content to chill by herself.

The Copy Ninja's friendliness really shouldn't have bothered her at all, but it did. It made her feel…different. Uncomfortable. Whatever his attention was doing to her, she liked it. And that was precisely the problem.

Anko didn't feel like the attention was deserved, which made the situation even worse. She started to wonder again if it was pity…He had been the one to bring her back to Konoha weeks after her fight with Kabuto. She had no idea how many times he had visited the hospital before she had come out of her comatose state, but he had come to see her quite a few times since then. He had even gone to her apartment to make sure she wasn't feeling badly.

The more thought she gave to the subject, the angrier she became. Maybe he felt like she needed to be watched. He had been rather disapproving of the amount of work she did on that construction job they'd worked on together. Discounting his missions, he'd started popping up out of nowhere simply to keep her company. Did that translate to 'keeping an eye on her'?

She grabbed her pillow and covered her head with it as she buried her face in the mattress to yell in frustration. She _would_ find him tomorrow, and he _would_ give her some straight answers.

* * *

Kakashi sat high up in a tree, the sun streaming through its branches and landing on the pages of his book; the perfect reading light. He was enjoying the quiet afternoon, the chirping of the birds and the rustling of the leaves mere white noise which he easily drowned out in favor of his favorite novel. He would have continued ignoring the world around him in favor of rereading a story he'd read four dozen times if it hadn't been for…

"Kakashi!"

"Hm?" Blinking, Kakashi tore his eyes away from the page he'd been focused on. Anko stood down on the ground beneath him, and, he noted with much trepidation, she didn't look very happy. "Can I help you?"

She continued to frown up at him, the rest of her expression unreadable. "Get down here," she said with no preamble. "We need to talk."

Sensing this was no time to be sarcastic, Kakashi sighed and snapped his book shut, placing it back in his hip pouch before jumping down from the tree. He met her gaze evenly, knowing a serious conversation was ahead. "Alright. What is it?"

Her eyes hardened, but something about them seemed to hold a determined sort of fire. She set her shoulders. "I want the truth."

Kakashi honestly tried to decipher her meaning, but when she didn't elaborate, he found himself at a loss. "About?"

"What's up with you? Is this a pity party? Do you feel bad for me, or what? Because you can cut it out anytime. I'm not dead, I'm not in a coma—I'm fine! If you think I need a babysitter, I don't, so just stop it!"

Confused, the silver-haired Jonin merely stared at Anko, attempting to figure out exactly what he had done wrong. After replaying her words in his mind again, his gaze softened as he looked her straight in the eyes. "I'm well aware that you're able to take care of yourself, Anko. I don't feel you deserve pity when you've done so well getting back on your feet."

"So why is it that you've developed the habit of hanging around me all the time?"

"Not all the time," he corrected. Then he smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to diffuse her apparent anger—though he still wasn't sure why she was so upset with him in the first place. "And I told you, we're friends aren't we?"

Anko's lips parted a little as she stared back at him, and she felt her pulse quicken at his touch. Her own reaction only confused her more. Kakashi felt the muscles in her shoulder tighten before she pushed his hand away. "You have other friends, don't you?" she asked, feeling desperate to find out the reason for his unusual behavior towards her. She really didn't like the way his casual friendliness was making her feel. "I don't recall you ever bending over backwards to seek out _their_ company. The whole village knows you prefer solitude. You _are_ the elusive Copy Ninja after all. So why me? Why now?"

Kakashi took in her fiery eyes and slightly flushed face as he began to feel unwelcome in her presence despite the fact that she had sought him out this time. "Oh," he said in a rather deflated tone. "Sorry. I…didn't know it bothered you—"

"Of course it doesn't bother me!" she shouted angrily, jerking her head to the side so she didn't have to look at him. She was growing increasingly frustrated, not really with Kakashi, but with herself. She wanted to hit him, but at the same time, all she really wanted to do was be near him, and yet she still didn't understand her apparent attraction to him. Her head was beginning to hurt with all these strange and conflicting emotions, and it was driving her crazy.

Kakashi was afraid to say anything, so he kept quiet, wondering what on earth had gotten into Anko. She didn't seem herself at all. It was unnerving to see her so off-balance. At the risk of earning even more of her wrath, he asked softly, "Anko…are you feeling alright?"

She clenched her fists. "Forget it," she growled as she turned on her heel and stormed away, leaving Kakashi to stare concernedly after her. How could she expect him to understand her behavior when she barely understood it herself? All she knew was that she felt confused and agitated, and she had to figure out why.

She made no progress. Over the next few weeks, she avoided Kakashi—and he made sure to keep his distance since it seemed to him that she was bothered by his presence. Unfortunately time away from him only confused Anko more, especially when she found herself feeling lonelier than ever, even when she was in the company of friends. Still, she fought her desire to see him, telling herself that she needed to get a hold on her emotions before she did anything else.

She began to wonder whether it was more than just his attention that had thrown her into stranger emotional tides. But when she gave the subject further contemplation, she was unable to come up with another explanation.

As she sat at her kitchen table one morning, Anko found herself merely playing with her spoon, swirling the cereal around in her bowl, her cheek resting on her palm. Pushing the bowl aside, she dropped her gaze to the floor. Three weeks had passed since last she'd actually talked to Kakashi. She'd seen him in passing, but they always avoided eye contact and neither one said a word, the awkwardness of their last meeting still lingering between them. She felt the need to apologize for her outburst, but at the same time, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself from doing the same thing over again since she hadn't come to terms with whatever it was that she had begun to feel. So instead, she opted to simply avoid Kakashi until she had come up with a way to deal with her own issues.

And damn it all, she still wasn't sure what her issues were in the first place! Why was it that he always smiled at her? Why did he seek her out when no one else did? Why did he make her feel wanted? Why didn't 'friends' describe the way she felt when she was around him?

Anko folded her arms on the table and rested her head upon them, tired of the same, circular thoughts. As much as it pained her to admit it, she needed help.

* * *

"Alright, it's your turn to change him."

"Huh?" Kurenai stopped in the process of cleaning up the kitchen from lunch. When she saw Shikamaru holding Kenta at arm's length, she gave a mild grimace. "Again? This makes three times in the last two hours."

"Don't look at me. You're the one that feeds him."

Taking in a long, drawn out breath, Kurenai rinsed out the washcloth and placed it over the edge of the sink before hurrying to take her baby boy from Shikamaru. "You are just full of something today aren't you?" she asked him as he clutched onto the front of her shirt.

Shikamaru stepped aside to allow her to take Kenta into his room to change his diaper. When the doorbell rang, he turned his head in the direction of the sound curiously.

"Shikamaru, would you get that please?"

"I'm on it," said the Nara as he ambled toward the front of the house. Expecting to find Chouji, or possibly Kiba and Hinata, he opened the door only to step back in mild surprise when it was none of them.

"Anko-Sensei?"

"Shikamaru. Figures you'd be here. Should have known I guess."

"Can't say the feeling is mutual," he replied, finding it odd that she'd shown up there at all. Shrugging it off as none of his concern, he said, "You're here for Kurenai-Sensei, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Does she have a minute?"

Shikamaru stepped aside to allow her to enter the house. "You can ask her yourself. She's in Kenta's room." Anko slipped past him, depositing her shoes beside the door before crossing into the living room. As he shut the door, Kurenai came out of an adjourning room, her little boy walking beside her as she held his hand to support him.

"Anko," she greeted, not having expected the other woman to drop by. "Forgive me for not welcoming you sooner. I'm afraid I had a diaper to dispose of."

"Ha, well glad I just missed it."

Chuckling lightly, Kurenai moved toward the couch on which Shikamaru had just taken a seat. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well actually…I kinda wanted to talk to you. In private. If you've got time that is. If not, it's no problem."

"Sure, I can talk," said Kurenai, sensing that whatever was on Anko's mind was rather important. "Shikamaru, would you mind taking Kenta for a few moments?"

"Sure thing," the Nara replied, reaching out to take the boy by his other hand to help him finish walking his way to the couch. Picking him up, Shikamaru set Kenta on his lap as the two women exited the house in favor of the central garden.

Anko and Kurenai walked across the wooden walkway in silence for a little while, neither one really noticing the sounds of the birds or the trickling water from the man-made pond that sat in the middle of the garden. Finally, Kurenai broke the quiet.

"So, what's on your mind?"

Anko suddenly stopped, and so did she. The special Jonin slumped her shoulders and sighed. "I dunno. Now that I think about it, it's really kinda silly…"

"Try me."

Anko turned to face the garden, but her thoughts were clearly elsewhere. "It's about Kakashi."

The widow frowned in confusion. "What about him?"

"We've always been comrades, fellow Hidden Leaf ninja, but never friends."

"No, come to think of it, I seem to recall several disagreements between you two."

"Exactly. And…I dunno, maybe you can shed some more light on the subject for me… He's pretty solitary, isn't he?"

"Considering I never see him unless it's business related, I'm inclined to agree with you. He likes to be by himself a lot."

"Huh…That's what I thought," Anko mused humorlessly.

"So then…what's the problem?"

Anko shifted her gaze to Kurenai. "You know he's the one that brought me back to the village, right?"

"No. I didn't know that."

"Yeah, well…ever since then, things have…changed. And I have no idea why."

"Changed? In what way?"

After a few moments hesitation, Anko reluctantly told Kurenai the events of the past few months. The two women weren't close friends, however Anko was desperate to lay her emotions at ease, and she highly doubted any of her male friends would be able to hear and understand her situation, let alone give her advice. Still, it felt strange to ask for advice at all…

The older woman looked back at her, eyes widening slightly in disbelief. "Yes, I suppose that is strange. Kakashi usually keeps to himself. If someone wants to speak to him that badly, it's up to them to track him down."

"So you see what I'm getting at." She paused. "_You_ don't think it's pity…do you?"

"Doubtful. He isn't the type to either give or receive it." Kurenai looked Anko in the eyes. "Perhaps he truly just wants to be your friend. I can't say I have any further explanation than that."

"So I should just accept it then…"

"Why not?"

Anko looked away again. She wasn't sure she wanted to give away her other feelings on the subject. Picking through her thoughts, Anko carefully chose her next words.

"I guess I'm just…not used to someone caring so much. I mean, the only time I can remember feeling lonely was after Orochimaru's betrayal. I got over it eventually. I have good friends. And for the most part, I'm fine with being on my own. But something about Kakashi, the way he treats me…I'm not sure how I feel about it—or how I should feel."

A thoughtful silence passed between the two women. Then finally, Kurenai said, "Yes, I think you should simply accept it. No matter how odd it may seem, it sounds like Kakashi truly wishes to be your friend. I think you should feel rather special to have earned so much attention from a hermit like him." She laughed a little.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Told ya it was silly."

Kurenai shook her head. "I understand your confusion. He's a difficult one to peg, that's for sure. I've learned not to question that man's actions, nor what motivates him to act the way he does."

"I'd say that's good advice." She looked back at Kurenai seriously. "Thanks."

"Hm?"

"You didn't have to listen ya know."

Kurenai frowned slightly and tilted her head. "Hey, I'm here if you ever need another woman to talk to. I know you and I aren't close either, but…"

Anko smiled. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime."

Kurenai watched as Anko headed down the path away from the house. Shikamaru came up behind her, Kenta in his arms.

"What was that about?"

The Sarutobi's lips twitched upward slightly. "Maybe nothing. But I have a feeling things are going to get really interesting around here…"

Shikamaru stared at Kurenai. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Kurenai turned to go back into the house, taking Kenta from Shikamaru. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

The Nara scratched his head as Kurenai walked back into the living room. Then he sighed, unable to figure out what in the world she was talking about. "Girls…" he muttered.

* * *

It was admittedly strange to Kakashi that he actually missed Anko. He wondered why he cared so much that they hadn't said a word to one another over three weeks. It wasn't like they had ever talked much before. Even as of late, he hadn't been around her enough to grow attached to her. Had he? Kakashi had told himself he was only being nice to her, and he had admitted that her company wasn't so bad—at least when she wasn't being hard-headed, bossy or insane. But why should he miss her voice? Her laugh? Her smile? Her quirks? Why did her rejection (that's the way he'd taken their last conversation) wound him?

He wasn't so much offended at their last encounter as he was disappointed and confused. Over the past few weeks, his thoughts had drifted to her several times, and he asked himself what he'd done to anger her so. He had attempted to brush it all aside. Kakashi never had understood women all that much. He only partially understood Tsunade and Sakura and their tempers, but he'd gotten so used to their bouts of violence it rarely bothered him anymore.

Anko on the other hand…he knew almost nothing about her. And whereas he was often able to ignore the Sanin and her student's tempers out of the simple fact that it had become almost like a routine occurrence, he found he was unable to stop himself from worrying over Anko's reaction to his kindness.

He stared up at the cloudless sky as he sat on the bench that occupied the main road out of the village, watching a crow fly around from tree to tree, making its usual hideous noise that always seemed to mock the world beneath it.

"Hey Kakashi."

"Hm?" Kakashi looked to the left. He sighed internally. He really didn't feel up for company. "Iruka," he said politely.

The other man took a seat next to him with his usual, cheerful demeanor. "Let me guess, you were reading, right? I seem to remember this is one of your favorite spots."

Kakashi sighed and looked back up at the sky. He had originally attempted it, but he had found it rather difficult to concentrate on the written words. "Not today."

Iruka furrowed his brows in confusion. "Is there something on your mind, Kakashi?"

"No, not really."

An awkward silence passed between them, one in which Iruka began to feel as if he had intruded on something. It was quite curious to him that Kakashi seemed almost melancholy—an emotion which he rarely showed. Remembering how the Copy Ninja had given him advice numerous times before (for example when he'd spoken to Iruka about how to handle Naruto all those years ago), the instructor searched for words of comfort or wisdom but came up with none. Feeling inadequate, he looked away from Kakashi, down to the cobblestones at their feet.

"Hey."

Both men glanced in the direction Iruka had just come from.

Kakashi felt an emotion that was somewhere between relief and foreboding.

"Hello Anko."

"Iruka." She paused. "I need to talk to Kakashi. Unless it's a bad time."

"Uh—oh no, not at all!" Iruka stood with an awkward smile. Looking between the two, he wondered if they had had some sort of argument, and perhaps that was the reason for Kakashi's unusual behavior. Though he couldn't remember ever seeing them together… "I…guess I'll see you two later," he said as he walked past Anko.

Anko looked to the side as Iruka strode away from them, not wanting to meet Kakashi's eyes, though she felt his questioning stare.

Once the other man was out of earshot, she said, "Look, before you say anything, I'm sorry."

Kakashi waited a few moments before he spoke. "I wasn't waiting for an apology you know."

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Yeah." Still unwilling to meet his gaze, she sat down on the bench beside him and focused on the cobblestones, same as Iruka had done. "But I wouldn't feel right if I didn't give you one."

That awkwardness was still present between the pair. Kakashi wasn't sure exactly what she wanted him to say, if she wanted him to say anything at all. Finally he said, "I guess I owe you one, too." After a minute, he added, "I meant it by the way."

Anko risked a glance in his direction. "Huh?"

"I've never pitied you. I know you're able to handle yourself—you've done a great job so far. I'm sorry if you thought—"

"Don't be stupid," she said, though her tone didn't hold its usual bite. "I wasn't offended. I'm just…not used to such kindness. Especially not from you."

"What's that supposed to mean? The first part…"

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. That's my own problem to deal with."

There was another lengthy silence as the two looked away from each other, losing themselves in their own thoughts. Anko wasn't sure what else to say to rectify the situation since she knew she had been the one to overreact. Subsequently, their current communication dilemma was her fault.

Kakashi, on the other hand, felt only relief. She didn't seem to be mad at him anymore, though he questioned why her anger had bothered him at all.

He thought again about how different she was from Obito, Sasuke, Kabuto and Orochimaru. He remembered his admiration for her, and he also remembered how he had prayed to higher powers that such a strong woman would survive her terrible ordeal.

Leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his open thighs, Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes. "I've been through two wars now. I've lost so many people—family, friends, comrades. I suppose that kind of thing opens your eyes. I'll be honest with you; when we were sent out to find you and bring you back to the Hidden Leaf, I didn't doubt that the mission would be a success. But I thought for sure you'd be dead. Even when we found you miraculously still alive, I didn't think you'd make it."

He remembered visiting her in the hospital before she'd woken; the soreness of that moment when he was still in a state of numbness over Obito's most recent death. He remembered Obito being crushed by the rocks all those years ago and also how Rin had died. The hopelessness of both situations had gnawed at him day in and day out. But Anko…

Kakashi raised his head to look up at the sky, finding that the crow had gone. "I don't know. I guess, in a way, you gave me something to hope for," he said, as if that explained all of his recent actions.

Anko couldn't note the expression he wore since she sat on his left side, unable to take a hint from his only visible eye. However, his tone and his words warmed her. They made her feel almost important. For a while, she simply stared at him, unable to respond to such a profound sentiment. Was that the reason for his constant intrusions into her life? Did she still instill a sense of hope within him? The thought made her smile slightly, and she looked away.

"Well I'm glad you didn't give up on me then." She glanced at him askance.

Kakashi, hearing the odd tone of her voice, met her uncharacteristically timid gaze and saw a slight flush upon her cheeks. He noted this as very peculiar for the tough and outgoing snake kunoichi.

She turned fully to face him and her smile widened as she returned to her usual self. "And I hope you don't give up on me now."

Kakashi blinked at her sudden change in mood. In the end, he decided to simply accept it without question. So, giving her his signature eye-crinkle, he said, "Of course I won't."

Anko held out her hand. "So, we're still friends?"

The Copy ninja looked at her hand questioningly, debating whether or not it was a trap. He wouldn't put it past her…but after rethinking her sincerity, he took it. "Still friends."

Anko internally stiffened as the sudden contact created a spark somewhere deep inside her. She pulled her hand away quickly, but causally, hiding her discomfort over the sensation. "Good." She stood and grinned down at him. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I'll see ya round, eh Kakashi?"

"Yeah. See you," Kakashi replied with his lazy wave.

As Anko left, Kakashi lowered his hand and stared after her. It felt strange to watch her leave so casually after such an intimate conversation. It was odd, but he almost wanted to follow her.

Shrugging it off, he pulled out his book and began to read, happy to be able to return to his favorite hobby.

**A/N:** I know this one is shorter and…kinda quick. But like I said, I'm trying to time jump a little. I'm finding it very hard to drag this out. Lol

And am I the only one who wishes I could make Youtube videos for my stories and actually have the stories animated…? –w- That would be amazing.


	6. Chapter 6: Subconscious Desires

**A/N:** Woo! I finally get to start putting in the parts I had written already. This first scene was one of the drabbles. Simple, but cute I suppose. The rest of the chapter is all stuff I just made up in the shower and while I was writing. Hope you like it!

_Chapter Six: Subconscious Desires_

Anko forced her more troubling emotional afflictions aside, choosing to take Kurenai's suggestion of accepting Kakashi's friendship without question. The next few weeks passed relatively easily between the pair as they resumed their casual chats whenever they happened to pass one another.

Kakashi couldn't explain his relief at their return to their previous comfortable relationship. What was more, he couldn't explain the upward turn of mood he experienced whenever he would see her either. It was quite a new feeling to him—the solitary Copy Ninja, the man who had been conditioned to be a loner ever since the loss of his parents.

Attempting to riddle out the odd effect Anko's presence had on him was too big a challenge, though, and so he had taken to simply shrugging it off.

At the present, Kakashi was meandering his way along, heading kind of, sort of in the direction of the training field where he was supposed to have met Naruto. Oh well, he reasoned. He was already late. Why hurry now?

"Hey!" came a rather loud, familiar voice that was accompanied by a hard slap on his back.

"Anko," he said, stopping to meet her cheerful expression.

"Where ya headed?"

"Oh…well, I was supposed to meet Naruto…"

"So, you're late again. Big surprise."

He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I know, right?"

"What luck! I just happened to catch you outside my favorite dango shop! Since you're already late as usual, you wanna join me?"

Kakashi put a knuckle to his chin as he looked up in thought. "Hm…I really shouldn't…"

"Hey, you have a reputation to uphold, don't ya?"

"That I do."

"Then why do you have to think about it? Come on!" Making up his mind for him, she grabbed his arm and drug him into the dango shop. Anko didn't even have to give Akito her order. In fact, the shop owner greeted his best customer like an old friend and placed her preferred dumplings in front of her. Without hesitation, she dug into the delicious treats with zealous fervor.

Kakashi ordered and ate a few dangos just to appease Anko, though in all honesty, they were much too sweet for his liking, then he sat, arms crossed, as he waited for her to finish. He sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. "You and your dangos. Honestly, you're just like Naruto and his obsession with Ramen."

Anko gave him a small scowl. "Hey! I'd like to think I have more class than that knuckleheaded kid."

Kakashi lazily shifted his visible eye in her direction. "This from a woman with dango on her face..."

The violet-haired kunoichi's eyes widened, then she turned away with an embarrassed grin, wiping her face off with her napkin. "Woops! What can I say? They're just so good!"

Kakashi resumed staring upwards with his arms still crossed. "Anyway," he mused. "Naruto isn't really a kid anymore. I have to admit, he's grown up in a lot of ways..."

"Kakashi-Sensei!"

Naruto shoved his way into the dango shop, plopping his hands on the counter between Kakashi and Anko.

"Well, speak of the devil," the silver-haired Jonin said obligatorily.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" yelled Naruto obnoxiously. "You were supposed to meet me at the training field over an hour ago! Where in the world have you been?"

"If you say so..." Anko muttered to herself in reference to Kakashi's comment about Naruto having matured. She took another bite of her precious dumplings.

"Sorry Naruto," said Kakashi with his cheerful eye-crinkle. "I was on my way to the training field, honest. But I...got a little sidetracked."

"What, you mean to tell me that having a snack with the scary snake lady is more important than training?"

"Hey, what's up?" Anko greeted happily—almost sadistically—from just over his shoulder.

Naruto jumped and bolted to Kakashi's other side, moving away from the too-close-for-comfort creepy grin Anko was giving him. He pointed wildly at her, stuttering, but unable to come up with a coherent response.

"Calm down, Naruto," said Kakashi in exasperation. "I was done eating anyway. We can head to the training field together. How's that?"

Forgetting to be scared of the scary snake lady, Naruto grinned excitedly. "Yeah! Alright! C'mon, Kakashi-Sensei, let's go! Let's go!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," said Kakashi, rising to his feet.

Naruto left the shop in a blur as Kakashi turned to Anko. "Thanks for inviting me to eat, Anko."

She smiled. "Anytime!"

Kakashi paused a moment before reaching into his hip pouch to retrieve his wallet. Taking out a few bills and coins, he set them on the counter. He grinned at her before turning away. "Well, see you," he said, pushing aside banners and exiting the shop.

Anko looked down at the money. He was actually paying for his own food? Even Anko knew that was uncharacteristic of the Copy Ninja. However, there was clearly more there than there was supposed to be. She counted the money and furrowed her brows in confusion as she realized he had paid for hers as well.

She glanced over her shoulder knowing he was already gone. That was the second time he'd bought her dumplings. The first time she could excuse, but this time?

Shrugging, she turned back to her dangos and took another bite with a grin, deciding just to savor it. Who was she to complain about free food?

* * *

"Hey Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

The Kyuubi Vessel plopped down in the grass, taking a break from his training. Kakashi sat leaning against a tree, reading one of his novels.

"Not that it's any of my business or anything, but…how come you've been hanging out with Anko-Sensei so much?"

"Hm?" Kakashi looked up from his book.

"I mean…I didn't exactly know you were friends. Not like you and Gai-Sensei, or Pervy-Sage. I was just curious."

Kakashi was taken aback by his former student's question. When had Naruto picked up observational skills?

When he had recovered from his surprise, Kakashi resumed reading. "I suppose I just run into her more often is all. It doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Uh…no. It's just a little weird. I mean you're…well, you know…you're so cool all the time, and she's…eh…a little nuts."

Kakashi laughed quietly. "If I can put up with you, I'm pretty sure I can handle Anko."

Naruto grunted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounded like. Now, don't you have a new Jutsu to perfect?"

"Huh? Oh, right! Yeah! Break time's over!" Naruto leapt to his feet and gathered the chakra in his palms to practice the new change in chakra form he'd come up with, his curiosity about his Sensei's strange friendship quickly forgotten in favor of rigorous training.

* * *

"First archive workers, and now interior decorators? This was not in the job description!"

"You complain too much, Kotetsu," said Izumo as the two men carried a couch up the steps of the Hokage's mansion.

"You can't tell me you like doing this stuff, can you?"

"No, of course not. But that doesn't matter."

"Right. You're way too hard-nosed, Izumo."

"One of us has to be."

Someone suddenly dropped down onto the couch from above them and Kotetsu, who was on the bottom, looked up as he quickly steadied the large piece of furniture which had just received one-hundred pounds of extra weight.

"What the—!?"

"Anko?"

"Now what are you two doing?"

"Trying to move this couch, and you just made it heavier," said Kotetsu.

She rolled over onto her stomach to glare at him. "You callin' me fat?"

"Wha—no!"

"Good." She returned to her previous position, laying on her back. "Carry on," she said with a wave of her hand.

"Aw, c'mon! You're not gonna help us?" said Izumo.

"Hey, it's not my job to cater to the demands of the Hokage."

"Some friend you are," grumbled Kotetsu as he and Izumo resumed their trek up the stairs to the fourth level of the mansion, down the long, circular hallway to the room which was used for private meetings.

When they set the sofa down where one of the old ones used to be, she sat up and looked around at how different the room was from the last time she'd seen it. "So what, is Lady Tsunade redecorating or something?"

"Just this room," said Izumo.

"Thankfully," said Kotetsu.

"Since it's often used to meet with diplomats, Tsunade thought it needed a classier update."

"Well, it looks good. Great job, guys! Good team effort!"

They both scowled at her.

She stood up and turned to face the both of them. "So," she said with a grin, ignoring their annoyed expressions. "When you're finished with all this—"she gestured to the room around them—"You wanna hang tonight for a couple drinks?"

Kotetsu's expression changed instantly for the better. "Ha, you bet!"

"I guess I'm game," Izumo agreed.

"Good. It's been awhile since the three of us have had a chance to chill out together."

"You buying?" asked Kotetsu.

"Hell no! You're big boys. You can buy your own drinks."

Izumo laughed and Kotetsu huffed and crossed his arms.

Anko grinned at them as she turned to leave. "See you boys later then. Have fun decorating!"

She laughed at their suddenly dejected expressions. Apparently they'd been hoping she'd stick around to distract them from their task a little longer.

* * *

Six hours later, the two friends and roommates headed from their apartment, both anticipating a night of relaxation after a hard day's work. As they walked toward the south end of the village, Kotetsu crossed his arms behind his head with an odd sort of smile.

"What are you so happy about?" asked Izumo.

"Ah, nothing."

"Liar. You look like you're up to no good."

Kotetsu cracked open one eye to glance over at his friend. "You never have faith in me, do you?"

"Knowing you, there isn't much to have faith in. So c'mon, spill it."

The spiky-haired ninja chuckled. "Fine. I was just thinking…maybe I'll get lucky this time."

Izumo tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?"

Lowering his arms, Kotetsu looked at Izumo in disbelief. "Don't tell me you've forgotten. As my best friend, you should know what I'm talking about."

It took a few seconds for Izumo to catch on, but when he did, he merely rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Aw man, you're not still—?"

"You can't blame me! You know you wouldn't mind her either," said Kotetsu, elbowing Izumo lightly in the side with a grin. When Izumo refused to look at him, he prodded his friend again. "Admit it."

"Alright, fine…" He allowed himself a slight, shameless grin of his own. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind her…"

When they had reached their usual bar, the two friends entered and found a booth along the wall to the right toward the back. Izumo took the seat straight back and Kotetsu sat to his left leaving the space to his right for Anko when she arrived. The waitress came over and they ordered a bottle of sake to share for the time being.

"I've got it!" said Kotetsu out of the blue, almost making Izumo choke on his drink.

"Huh? Got what?"

Kotetsu seemed to be looking up at the ceiling, but his thoughts were not on the current place and time. "Yeah…that'll definitely work."

"What will?"

Instead of answering his question, Kotetsu looked over his shoulder when he heard the door open. Anko stepped inside the bar and upon seeing Kotetsu, she headed straight for their table.

Kotetsu grinned again. "Just watch…"

Izumo wasn't sure why, but he was getting a real bad feeling about whatever his friend had up his sleeve.

"Congratulations on beating me here this time," said Anko as she took the seat opposite Kotetsu and grabbed the bottle of sake to pour herself a drink. "Ran into Gai on the way here…"

"That's always pleasant," said Izumo.

"Right? I swear, if that man ever gets a girlfriend, I'll be impressed."

"Speaking of," began Kotetsu. "What do you say to a drinking contest?"

Izumo _did_ choke on his drink this time. Anko merely stared at Kotetsu for a moment, her cup to her lips. Then, slowly, she raised one eyebrow, the corners of her mouth curving upward.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

Anko fought it for as long as possible, she really did. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold back the laughter. "Are you kidding me? Who's the liquor-holding champion here?"

"Doesn't matter who is. Because it could all change."

"That's highly unlikely," said Anko as she finally took a drink of her sake, clearly pushing his challenge aside.

Kotetsu scowled and stood up, slamming his hands on the table. Anko blinked up at him while Izumo sat back in his seat, simply watching events unfold. "I'm serious! You. Me. Right here. Right now."

"Alright, alright. If you really want me to put you to shame like I did the last time, then so be it." She snapped her fingers as the waitress walked passed and ordered a milder liquor to start them off with. When the waitress left, she turned back to Kotetsu who had sat back down and was now looking rather smug. Anko leaned back against the booth, arms folded with an amused expression on her face. "So, are we doing this for bets, or what?"

"You know it."

"Okay then. The terms of your imaginary victory?"

Kotetsu leaned forward, elbow resting on the table between them, his chin in his hand. "If _I_ win, _you_ give _me_ a kiss."

Izumo's face flushed as he looked between them, noting that even though Kotetsu wore a confident smirk, Anko seemed unfazed and unimpressed.

Anko closed her eyes briefly. "Heh…Okay. But if _I_ win…" She glanced back at Kotetsu from under her lashes. "Not only do you have to be Tsunade's errand boy, but you'll have to cater to my every whim for an entire week."

"Deal!" said Kotetsu.

Izumo sighed, sinking back into his seat with trepidation. This night was not going to end well.

Sure enough, two hours later saw Kotetsu struggling to focus his eyes, his head wavering slightly on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Anko, though flushed and a bit haze-eyed, was steady as a rock and cool as ever. They had gone through a round of almost every type of liquor in the place. All that was left was the real hard stuff. Sensing that Kotetsu wasn't going to last much longer, Anko set down her glass and stared him down.

"You ready to call it quits yet? If you stop now, I'll let you back out of the bet."

"No way!"

"Ugh, c'mon, don't be stupid. Just give it up."

"Never! One more! Let's go!"

"Kotetsu, face it, Anko's still going strong and you're about ready to fall out of the booth," said Izumo. "Give it a rest already."

"No! I said one more!"

Anko sighed. "If you say so…" She motioned again for the waitress and upped the ante by ordering a higher grade liquor. When it was placed on the table, Anko uncorked it and filled their glasses. Izumo, not a participant in the contest, had stuck to sake and was on his second bottle. He watched as Anko threw back her glass, then looked to Kotetsu with a challenging grin.

"Well, go on."

"Kotetsu…" Izumo warned.

Ignoring his friend's cautioning, Kotetsu downed his glass and slammed it on the tabletop. "Ha!" he shouted, but the force of his exclamation made him lose his balance and he toppled onto the floor.

"Kotetsu!" said Izumo, rushing to his friend's aid.

"Heh, heh, like I said, your winning was highly unlikely," said Anko. She stood as Izumo slung one of Kotetsu's arms across his shoulders and helped him to his feet.

Kotetsu groaned, feeling light-headed. "Damn it…"

Anko grinned as she leaned closer to him. Kotetsu met her eyes. "I'll tell ya what…" she began sweetly. "Since I'm such a nice person, I'll give you that kiss…"

Both Izumo and Kotetsu blushed, eyes wide. When her lips touched Kotetsu's cheek, his face erupted into a very big, very happy smile.

Anko also smiled happily as she continued. "Oh, and by the way, once you're recovered from your hangover tomorrow, come and find me. I'll find lots and lots of fun chores for you to do!"

His face fell dramatically as he remembered the terms of her victory. His head dropped as he groaned again, this time in defeat.

Izumo laughed nervously. "Well, I guess I'd better get him home. He's got a long night ahead of him."

Anko straightened and looked to Izumo. "No kidding."

"I warned him it was a bad idea."

"You can never tell him anything."

"Ain't that the truth?"

The two of them laughed quietly. Then Izumo turned his attention back to the drunken Shinobi. "Come on, Kotetsu. Time to go."

Anko watched the two men leave the bar, more than slightly amused. Sometimes her boys could be downright stupid—well, mostly Kotetsu. Izumo usually had a pretty level head.

She was about to return to her seat when she noticed a flash of silver hair a few tables away. She glanced over in that direction and met the coal black eye of the Copy Ninja. Her smile returning, she sauntered over to his table, trying to ignore her quickening heart rate.

Kakashi watched her approach, having witnessed the scene that had just taken place between she, Izumo and Kotetsu. For a brief moment, he had felt a flash of envy upon watching the later Jonin receive a kiss from Anko. It had quickly been replaced by amusement though when he had heard her refer indirectly to what must have been the terms of some kind of bet.

Now as she came towards him, he found his gaze traveling from her legs to her torso to her slightly flushed face. He said nothing as she took the seat opposite him, folding her arms on the table and piercing him with a half-lidded stare, her unusually pretty smile curving her lips.

"I've never seen you in here before," she said without a word of hello.

He shrugged. "My usual place isn't up and running again yet."

"I see…"

"I take it Kotetsu lost a bet of some sort?" Kakashi asked as he tried to figure out the emotion hidden in her glossy eyes. She seemed almost flirty in her mannerisms and in her quiet speech, but he knew it was just the effect of all the alcohol she'd probably consumed.

She chuckled. "Yeah. Idiot thought he could beat me at a drinking contest."

"Oh, well that explains things," said Kakashi cheerily. "Looked like you left him in bad shape."

"Hey, it was _his_ idea, not mine."

"I don't doubt it."

As Anko stared back at the Copy Ninja, she found herself wondering, like so many others, what was beneath his mask. She had seen his Sharringan and subsequently the scar over his left eye, but she really, _really_ wanted to peel down that damned mask. Surely he wasn't hiding an ugly deformity. She had eaten lunch with Kakashi enough to notice Ayame's apparent attraction to him. That made Anko fairly sure that _she_ had seen his face before, and the way she made goo-goo eyes at him every time he stopped at Ichiraku was an affirmation that he had to be pretty good looking. The fact that he always seemed to eat so quickly that Anko never had the chance to see it mildly irked her. She wanted to know what was under there…

She licked her lips unconsciously.

Kakashi noticed, his gaze dropping to her lips. The lips that had touched his comrade's cheek. What did they feel like? he wondered. Were they as soft as they looked? For some reason, Kakashi couldn't imagine Anko being gentle with real kisses. No. Her lips were sure to be rough and demanding, not gentle and sweet.

He shoved those thoughts away.

Noticing the shift in Kakashi's attention, Anko suddenly became aware of her own behavior and looked away from him, searching for the waitress. Waving her over, she took note of the sake Kakashi was drinking and ordered him another one. "Put it on my tab," she said. The waitress nodded and walked away. Anko got to her feet.

"Isn't the man supposed to buy the woman drinks?" Kakashi asked as she made to walk past him. She stopped next to him and leaned down to speak into his ear.

"Yeah, but clearly I don't need another one, and besides, I owe you for the dangos."

"I wasn't expecting a return favor."

"Alright. Then you can pay me back later," she said almost huskily. Her mouth lingered next to his face for a moment as she fought the strange desire to press her lips to his clothed cheek. She stood straight again before she could do any such crazy thing, heading for the door with a lazy wave as the waitress delivered his drink.

"Later, Hatake."

Kakashi watched her go, wanting to call her back, but for what reason, he didn't know. Looking back at the sake that had just been set before him, he decided he shouldn't let it go to waste. Uncapping the bottle, he refilled his cup.

* * *

Anko pushed away thoughts of Kakashi on her way home, realizing that she was beginning to feel tired and a little dizzy. It had been quite a while since she'd drank that much. Upon reaching her apartment, she decided she needed a shower to wash off the smell of smoke from the bar. Tossing her smoky clothes into the laundry room and pulling her hair from its ponytail, she turned on the hot water and stepped into the stream.

Grabbing her shampoo, she scrubbed her violet locks before rinsing and conditioning. Then she reached for the soap and rubbed the washcloth over her body. It was at this point that the fogginess began to overrun her brain. Her eyes lost focus as she ran the soapy cloth down over her shoulder and across her chest, the image of a certain spiky silver-haired Jonin with two-colored eyes flashing across her mind. For some reason, she began to imagine that it was his hand guiding the washcloth around her breasts, down over her stomach to her thighs. She lifted each leg in turn as she leaned into one corner of the shower, her head falling forward.

After wringing out the washcloth and hanging it back where it belonged, she stayed in her corner, letting the now cooling water wash over her heated skin, each drop hitting her like a wonderful massage. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she placed her hands on her stomach. Again, her imagination ran away with her as she let one of her hands drift downward to the soft curls between her legs, imagining that that hand belonged to Kakashi.

She inhaled and exhaled slowly as she stroked herself, again trying to piece together an image of a face that could possibly do him justice. The memory of her name on his voice stirred her forward, and she let her head fall forward again as she pushed a finger up inside herself.

After rewashing her hands and her body, she shut the water off and grabbed her towel. Once she had finished her nightly bedtime routine, she discarded the towel and crawled into bed, not bothering to dress. She felt much too warm to bother with clothes. Pushing her heavier blankets away and pulling her sheet up over her, she nestled her head into her pillows and closed her eyes, more than ready for sleep to claim her.

**A/N:** In case you guys haven't noticed yet, I love Izumo and Kotetsu. I have no idea why. They hardly have any screen time in the show, but they're always funny. :3 I wouldn't mind an Anko x Kotetsu pairing really. He's adorable too. xD I thought it would be cute to make him have a bit of a crush on her.

Also, I don't drink, and subsequently, I have never been drunk. I have never gone to places where people are really drunk (and if I have, I've never paid attention to them). So please excuse my ignorance on the subject. All I know are the images that come to my severely psychotic brain. I hope you liked them anyway.

Please review guys! I love all my readers!


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